Beau Willimon, Creator Of House Of Cards, Working On A Sci-Fi Drama

Beau Willimon is trading the Oval Office for the Red Planet, now that his sci-fi series The First has been ordered to series at streaming giant Hulu. The show largely centers on humanity’s endeavors to colonize Mars and extend their reach further into the solar system. “It’s a story about the human spirit,” Willimon teased in an official statement, noting that The First stays true to its name in that it follows a team of elite scientists and pioneers who stage the inaugural manned mission to Mars.

The Red Planet only continues to be a point of fixation, both in reality and through sci-fi yarns in the vein of Andy Weir’s The Martian. Still, there are precious few story details available for The First but the cameras are expected to start rolling later this year in anticipation of a 2018 premiere. UK broadcaster Channel 4 is co-financing Willimon’s project, so we fully expect it to air simultaneously across both sides of the pond.

He said “It’s about our indomitable need to reach for unknown horizons. About people working toward the greatest pioneering achievement in human history. And about the cost of that vision, the danger and sacrifice – emotional, psychological, and physical – that’s required to achieve it. How ordinary, imperfect people band together and overcome a myriad of obstacles to grasp the extraordinary.”