Van Helsing (TV series)
"Van Helsing" is set in a post-apocalyptic near future. Vanessa Van Helsing, a descendant of Abraham Van Helsing, awakens from a coma after her supposed death to find herself in a post-apocalyptic world, three years after an eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera had blanketed the world in ash, blocking out sunlight and allowing vampires to overrun humanity. She is humanity's last hope, as her unique blood composition gives her the ability to turn vampires back into humans. With this secret weapon, Vanessa becomes a prime target for the vampires. She is protected by a Marine ordered to keep her safe, and the doctor who saved her, so she can lead a resistance against the vampires that plague the world's survivors. In the second season, Vanessa journeys east towards the safe haven of Denver, Colorado and discovers her long-lost sister Scarlett, who has been trained to kill vampires since birth. In the third season, Vanessa and Scarlett hunt the Elders, the original vampires, in order to defeat them for good. Following Vanessa's apparent death in the fourth season, the series switches focus to her long-lost biological daughters Violet and Jack as they face a new "daywalker" breed of vampires as well as the "Dark One" and ruler of the vampire species, Countess Olivia von Dracula and her brides, a former countess of Transylvania and de-facto President of the United States. Syfy acquired "Van Helsing" from Nomadic Pictures in November 2015, with a 13-episode order beginning production in January 2016, and a series premiere scheduled for Fall 2016. On October 14, 2016, Syfy renewed "Van Helsing" for a 13-episode second season, which premiered on October 5, 2017. It was revealed during San Diego Comic-Con 2017 that series star Kelly Overton was pregnant during the production of the second season of "Van Helsing". On December 19, 2017, Syfy renewed "Van Helsing" for a 13-episode third season, which premiered on October 5, 2018. Syfy renewed the series for a 13-episode fourth season on December 18, 2018. After three seasons, Neil LaBute stepped down as showrunner, with series writer Jonathan Walker taking over as showrunner for season 4. On December 17, 2019, Syfy renewed the series for a fifth and final season. The fifth season premiered on April 16, 2021. It was announced on May 14, 2019, that Tricia Helfer had been cast as Dracula in the fourth season, and that Richard Harmon, Nicole Munoz, Keeya King and The Big Show will join the series in its fourth season, in undisclosed roles. All the episodes in Season 3 were named after songs by Soundgarden. In addition, the penultimate episode's title is the censored version of "Jesus Christ Pose". Syfy aired a commercial-free preview of the pilot on July 31, 2016; this was followed by the series premiere on September 23, 2016. The series was originally slated to premiere in Canada on Super Channel, but because of Super Channel's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, the series was ultimately dropped from their schedule and instead premiered on Netflix on December 23, 2016. The series' pilot episode received 4.5 stars from "Den of Geek". In his review of "Van Helsing", Keith Uhlich of "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote: "It's pretty good... or is at least, to quote that old critic's saw, 'better than it has any right to be'. "
Development and production
In December 2019, Syfy renewed the series for a fifth and final season which premiered on April 16, 2021, and concluded on June 25, 2021.