Sci Fi Channel has green-lighted production on a sequel to its highly successful Dune miniseries.
Production on Children of Dune begins in Prague, Czech Republic, in
April, with the six-hour miniseries slated to air on the network in 2003. The
Sci Fi project marks the first film or television adaptation of the sequel
novels to the original best-selling Dune books.
Produced by New Amsterdam Entertainment, Children of Dune has been
adapted by John Harrison and Richard P. Robinson. Both worked on Frank
Herbert's Dune, which premiered on the network in December 2000, to record
ratings.
The miniseries is adapted from Dune Messiah and Children of Dune, the
second and third novels in the Herbert's award-winning six volume Dune
Chronicles.
The $20 million, three-part Frank Herbert's Dune averaged a 4.4
rating (2.92 million households) last December, doubling all previous viewership
records on the network. The miniseries also earned two Emmy Awards this fall, in the
cinematography and special-effects categories.
Based on the success it enjoyed with Frank Herbert's Dune, Sci Fi is
now airing a pair of miniseries annually. Next up: the four-hour Firestarter:
Rekindled in March and 20-hour epic Taken, from Steven Spielberg and
DreamWorks Television. The latter is currently in production in Vancouver,
Wash.
