12 years ago, series were not established as narrative formats for blockbuster material. Game of Thrones meant nothing to most people. The later mega hype only developed around series such as The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. In the midst of this cultural awakening, Terra Nova grew up with Jurassic Park creator Steven Spielberg as producer. Even from today’s perspective, the sci-fi series seems ambitious. In 2011, when the pilot premiered, Terra Nova was almost irresponsibly expensive.
You can stream the only season of the series monster on Disney + *. In this article we explain the wild history of Terra Nova.
Dinos in the year 2149: That’s what Terra Nova is about
The action of Terra Nova begins in the year 2149: The existence of mankind is threatened, so part of the population flees 85 million years in the past or in an alternative timeline. Your goal: you want to build civilization again, but better this time. Humanity is systematically colonizing its own past.
Terra Nova Season 1 Proof Trailer
At first glance, the old world seems paradisiacal. However, the usual dangers of this time lurk in the untouched nature, dinosaur for example. In addition, groups have split off from the resettled people, which leads to tensions in the new society.
Avatar bully Stephen Lang reprises almost the same role
At the center of the story is the Shannon family of five. The biggest star of the series, however, is Stephen Lang, who portrayed the villain Quaritch in Avatar and Avatar 2: The Way of Water. In Terra Nova he plays a similarly robust character in a similarly hostile jungle environment. Commander Nathaniel Taylor is the most powerful man in Terra Nova. As the first settler, he survived 118 days alone in nature.
20th Century Fox
Stephen Lang in Terra Nova
Terra Nova is considered one of the most expensive sci-fi series of all time
This massive story forced a relatively massive budget. In addition, shooting in Australia was complicated: the rain just wouldn’t stop and the effects took an unexpectedly long time. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the pilot alone, i.e. the first episode of Terra Nova, should be between $10 and $20 million have tasted. Most of the money probably went into the complicated Terra Nova sets.
This means: The remaining 12 episodes of the series, which also used the sets, were significantly cheaper than the pilot. Nevertheless, they should Total cost between $20 and $40 million lay. For comparison: ZDF only spent a comparable amount of money on Der Schwarm 10 years later, in the age of event series.
Terra Nova is still one of the most expensive sci-fi series ever. Although such and higher amounts are more common today. The first season of Westworld probably cost HBO more than 100 million US dollars.
More on the subject:
Terra Nova failed and even Netflix couldn’t save her
Ultimately, Terra Nova shattered because of the effort and the expectations attached to it. Only a few months after the broadcast in the USA, it was certain: The studio 20th Century Fox would not continue its mega project, as reported by DWDL, among others. In Germany, the series ran on ProSieben and met with a great deal of interest. However, the number of viewers in the USA was not enough to offset the high budget.
Terra Nova had died before it could live properly.
Hope flared up briefly: Netflix, then still a dwarf in the media landscape, wanted to take over Terra Nova, Deadline reported. The streaming service negotiated with the brand owner 20th Century Fox for two weeks – without result. The sci-fi series may have been too expensive even for Netflix.
And so Terra Nova became an unfinished series dinosaur that is gradually gathering dust in the TV museum. You can dig him up and rediscover him on Disney+.
*. If you make a purchase through these links or sign up for a subscription, we will receive a commission. .