Syfy looks to be on a roll with the number of new series due to premiere on their programming block. A number of these shows have had prior adaptations as films. For example, a pilot episode has been ordered for “Nightflyers,” a 1987 film based on a novella written by veteran science fiction writer George R.R. Martin. Martin, of course, is better known today for the low fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire” which is the basis of the HBO show “Game of Thrones.”

Another new series being developed in a similar vein by Syfy is the multi-film 90s monster franchise “tremors,” which did regain an older 2003 series adaptation when Syfy was called the Sci-Fi channel.

This new show looks to be a better version as it also includes actor Kevin Bacon, reprising the lead role he played in the original 1990 film.

Returning star

The Syfy cable network has also picked up a pilot for “Tremors” to be turned anew into a TV series. A major bonus for the prospective show is Kevin Bacon, who is both executive, producing and portraying one of the main characters. The first film had him portray Valentine McKee, a handyman working in the mining town of Perfection, Nevada which is infested by giant carnivorous worms called “graboids.” Bacon is reprising that role, as the “Tremors” pilot takes places 25 years after the original movie.

Bacon noted that the one-off character of McKee – absent in all “Tremors” sequels – may be the only role he has ever considered reprising.

“I just got to thinking, where would this guy end up after 25 years?” the longtime actor noted. He also remarked on the circumstances of his character as envisioned by Andrew Miller, who wrote the pilot episode and is expected to show-run the new “Tremors” if it ever gets ordered to series.

Old hero

Produced in association with Blumhouse Productions of horror producer Jason Blum, the new “TremorsSyfy series will return to the beleaguered Nevada settlement of Perfection Valley.

Its residents continue to tough it out in spite of the threatening presence of the graboid worms and their more terrifying transformations. Valentine McKee (Kevin Bacon), who helped fight off the first (modern-day) emergence of the graboids back in 1990, must once again take charge of protecting the people of Perfection. But first, he must get past his advancing age, alcohol habit, and a "hero complex" that has left him delusional.

The series is part and parcel of Syfy’s pioneering trend of turning minor film properties into TV shows. Pilots of “Tremors” and “Nightflyers” come while the cable network is gearing up for a new season of Canadian space opera production “Killjoys,” starting June 30.