Carlton Cuse

Carlton Cuse is of course best known for his team-up with fellow writer and producer Damon Lindelof on the game-changing ABC show, Lost, which came at a time when social media and fan podcasts for television were just starting to gain their footing. Along with Lindelof, Cuse created the first ARG, an alternative reality game, which extended the enjoyment of Lost beyond the TV screen onto fans’ computer screens. In helming successful genre shows like FX’s The Strain and USA Network’s Colony, Cuse continues to prove his savvy and his mettle. Ultimately, as a pioneer of transmedia and the showrunner behind one of genre fans’ touchstone shows, Cuse is eminently qualified to be in a think tank like this one.

Grant Morrison

Grant Morrison made a splash with defining stints on titles like Doom Patrol and Animal Man, Morrison then created The Invisibles, his most subversive work, a sprawling, conspiratorial sci-fi thriller for Vertigo. When DC needed someone to reset the Justice League of America and remind everyone why they’re the world’s premiere superteam, Morrison was there to make JLA one of DC’s most popular titles. Don’t forget All-Star Superman, widely regarded as one of the greatest superhero stories ever told. The Scottish comics writer may serve to keep whatever ideas the council discusses on the cutting edge.

Patton Oswalt

Putting aside Patton Oswalt’s breakout role on The King of Queens or his later appearances as the various Agent Koenigs on Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, his stand-up comedy often contains extended bits about pop culture and comic books. One often-cited example of his nerd cred is his guest appearance on Parks and Recreation in which he filibustered the city council by proposing a Star Wars-Marvel crossover movie in an entirely improvised speech that must be seen to be believed. Like many true geeks, Oswalt acknowledges his obsession as evidenced by his 2015 memoir title, Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film. His 4 million followers may have also been an incentive for inclusion on the council.

Luc Besson

As the representative filmmaker on the list, Luc Besson brings a cinematic perspective to the television think tank, and one only need look at the visibility of his most well-known science fiction movies, The Fifth Element and Lucy (not to mention the recent Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), despite the mixed critical reception of those movies, to understand why he was appointed to the council. As a director in the cinéma du look movement, which emphasizes spectacle over narrative, perhaps the thought is that Besson need only bring along his sense of style, which he has in abundance, while letting others worry about the substance.

Geoff Johns

The Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics and co-chair of DC Films, Geoff Johns is known for breathing new life into established properties and will perhaps do the same for the 25-year-old network. As someone with his hand in both the successful DC television shows on the CW and the burgeoning DC Extended Universe, his comics expertise may be helpful to SYFY, which, among other projects, is bringing a Superman prequel series, Krypton, to life.

Bonnie Burton