When SyFy launched in 1992, the network–then called the Sci-Fi Channel–was an oasis for science fiction fans who struggled to find their interests represented on television. And for years, the importance of the network was clear: When your options for science fiction on television are confined to a few Star Trek shows, Babylon 5, Stargate, and Farscape, a central home for all of the things that cater to your interests is very appealing.

There have always been occasional sci-fi shows that have broken through to the mainstream–The Six Million Dollar Man, Quantum Leap, or The X-Files–but for the most part, science fiction has been a niche part of the American entertainment diet, like legumes. Get too into it and you’re kind of weird. A network for all of the weirdos to indulge their love of original concepts like Sliders, or to recapture the greatness of old episodes of Manimal made a lot of sense, once upon a time.

But now, people who want to watch reruns of Quantum Leap have the power of Netflix at their disposal, if not an army of DVD box sets meticulously organized in a shelving unit somewhere–while original sci-fi/fantasy/horror-influenced shows that it once made sense to build a nerd-haven for have come to dominate the mainstream. Shows like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Orphan Black, and even out-there fare like Sleepy Hollow occupy a lot of the attention of the TV-watching public. Any of those shows would have had a comfy home on SyFy in years past–but these days, everyone, from television’s representatives of high culture like AMC and HBO to the broadcast networks, is on that beat. In 2014, there will be no fewer than seven shows on network television based on Marvel or DC Comics. That’s a remarkable number that represents a triumph of the geek–but where does it leave a network like SyFy, whose niche is no longer underrepresented?

Game of Thrones Photo by Helen Sloan, Courtesy of HBO

That’s a question that SyFy’s Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Bill McGoldrick, has spent a lot of time thinking about. After a successful tenure in a similar role at the USA Network–also owned by NBC Universal–McGoldrick was brought on in late 2013 to revitalize SyFy’s programming. The network has had hits even as science fiction became increasingly mainstream–think Battlestar Galactica–but it’s also watched as the marketplace it should own has spread to other networks. And while McGoldrick isn’t adverse to playing the coulda/woulda/shoulda game when it comes to those shows, he’s very focused on pushing the boundaries of what SyFy can bring to network.

McGoldrick laughs when I ask him if there are shows he wishes were on SyFy right now. “If I don’t say The Walking Dead, I should lose my job–but that’s an easy thing to say in hindsight,” he says. “Game of Thrones, American Horror Story–I like to fantasize that had I been there, they’d be on my air. There are always those ones that got away in these jobs, but it’s a waste of time.”

The plan to bring SyFy to the position befitting a network with that name and that agenda in a culture that clearly loves all manner of science fiction-based programming doesn’t involve chasing trends, then. According to McGoldrick, the preoccupation with genre television on seemingly every other network actually creates more opportunities for SyFy.

“Anytime you have a lot of competition, it’s challenging to carve out your own hits in a crowded marketplace,” he admits. “But the opportunity is that if you’re a writer of any talent, you better be writing genre, because that’s where the excitement is. We have more to choose from, and it can get even higher–people who wouldn’t have written a genre will have to, in order to survive. That’s got me really excited. It’s a bigger playing field. I think we’ll be able to spot trends.”