Ron Moore and Michael Taylor‘s SF pilot Virtuality will air on Friday, June 26 (8-10 PM ET/PT) on Fox. The pilot for the science fiction drama was filmed last year and its prospects of getting a series order seemed bleak only a couple of months ago. It remains to be seen if this will change, especially with the Friday night deathslot reserved for the premiere.
Virtuality follows a 12 member crew on a 10-year journey to a distant solar system. The crew members have a lot of time to fill, which is where the virtual reality element comes into play, and their journey is being financed by a reality show back on Earth, so they are also getting the Big Brother treatment. The pilot was directed by Peter Berg.
From the release:
The crew of the Phaeton is approaching the go/no-go point of their epic 10-year journey through outer space. With the fate of Earth in their hands, the pressure is intense. The best bet for helping the crew members maintain their sanity is the cutting-edge virtual reality technology installed on the ship. It’s the perfect stress-reliever until they realize a glitch in the system has unleashed a virus on to the ship. Tensions mount as the crew decides how to contain the virus and complete their mission. Meanwhile, their lives are being taped for a reality show back on Earth.
Virtuality stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Commander Frank Pike, Sienna Guillory as Rika Goddard, James D’Arcy as Dr. Roger Fallon, Ritchie Coster as Dr. Jimmy Johnson, Erik Jensen as Dr. Jules Braun, Omar Metwally as Dr. Adin Meyer, Kerry Bishe as Billie Kashmiri, Joy Bryant as Alice Thibadeau, Nelson Lee as Kenji Yamamoto, Jose Pablo Cantillo as Manny Rodriguez, Gene Farber as Val Orlovsky, Clea DuVall as Sue Parsons, and Jimmi Simpson as Virtual Ma.