Mallozzi notes that the comic did not exist as a separate entity but rather as a vehicle to pitch the show, saying it “turned out to be a great visual selling tool.” The following video shares more of our chat with Mallozzi and Mullie, and outlines Dark Matter’s journey from comic to television series.

Dark Matter is centered on the concept that six members of a spacefaring crew awaken from stasis with no memories of who they are or what their mission is. An interesting premise, to be sure, but does it have staying power? Fans of genre television in general appreciate when showrunners have a clear plan for the show several seasons in advance, and Mallozzi assures potential viewers that because the show’s been in development for so long, he and the writers have had time to take the long view.

“We have a five-year game plan,” Mallozzi explains. “One of the things I think audiences will love is the fact that because we’ve been able to plan so well; we’re able to drop hints to various character reveals and various twists and turns that will pay off later down the line either near the end of season one or beyond it.”

That being said, there’s a payoff even at the end of this first season, according to its creators. “One of them was responsible for the mind wipe, and ultimately we do find out. We will get answers,” Mallozzi says. “There’s a revelation in episode 12, sort of like the end of Sixth Sense where the penny drops and you realize, ‘Oh, right…’ And it’s rewarding, and it’s fun for the audiences and a great show to just sit down and watch six-and-a-half hours one day if we showed a marathon.”

Fans of space-based sci-fi will enjoy the galactic scale and political scope of the show as well. “We’re imagining a future where multi-planetaries rule,” Mallozzi says. “Essentially corporations have gone out and ceded planets; they’ve colonized in order to exploit planetary resources. And they’re the main players in colonized space.”