James Roday tapped to direct in first season of teh Blood Drive TV series on Syfy. (Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com.)

Psych veteran James Roday will direct two episodes in the first season of the Blood Drive TV show on Syfy. This marks Roday’s first TV series work, since Psych’s eight season run on USA Network. Roday has primarily been working in features and TV movies, in the wake of his long stint as Detective Shawn Spencer.

A grindhouse-style thriller-drama created by Co-EP James Roland, Blood Drive stars Alan Ritchson as Arthur Bailey and Christina Ochoa as “dangerous femme fatale” Grace.  Blood Drive hails from UCP and executive producers John Hlavin, Fredrik Malmberg, and David Straiton, who will also direct. Mark Wheeler is producing the series, which is currently in production in South Africa. Get the details from the Syfy press release.

JAMES RODAY DIRECTS TWO EPISODES OF GRINDHOUSE CINEMA-INSPIRED SYFY DRAMA “BLOOD DRIVE”; REUNITING THE “PSYCH” STAR WITH UNIVERSAL CABLE PRODUCTIONS

NEW SERIES TO PREMIERE IN 2017

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – September 12, 2016 – Universal Cable Productions (UCP) today announced it has reunited with former “Psych” star James Roday to direct two episodes of the upcoming Syfy series “Blood Drive,” a high-octane, scripted series in the classic grindhouse cinema tradition.

 

Roday is best known for his eight-year run as the hyper-observant consultant detective Shawn Spencer on UCP’s and USA Network’s hit comedy series “Psych,” for which he also wrote and directed several episodes. He made his theatrical directorial debut with the horror-comedy “Gravy” and has directed several well-known television series including “Rosewood” on Fox and “Rush Hour” on CBS. Additional acting credits include “Stuck,” “Baby, Baby, Baby” and the upcoming festival award-winning “Pushing Dead.”

 

“It’s great to have James back in the family,” said Richard Rothstein, Executive Vice President, Current Programming, Universal Cable Productions. “He’s beloved by fans for his portrayal of Shawn Spencer from ‘Psych,‘ but we’ve also come to know him as a terrific director who loves genre. We can’t wait to see his vision come to life on ‘Blood Drive.’”

“‘Blood Drive’ is a gooey, dystopian all-you-can-eat buffet for genre fans like me,” said Roday. “There’s honestly nothing quite like it on television right now. I signed up with aplomb. It’s great to be back at UCP and to work with such an incredibly talented, collaborative team.”

Set in a near-apocalyptic future, the 13-episode series centers on Arthur Bailey (Alan Ritchson, “Black Mirror” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”), the last good cop in Los Angeles, and Grace (Christina Ochoa, “Animal Kingdom”), his dangerous femme fatale partner with an agenda of her own. When Grace is forced to partner with Arthur, she’s not thrilled, to say the least. Grace may soon learn that this genuinely moral, nice guy is also a determined survivor, with whom she may have more in common than she had ever imagined

 

The gruesome thriller is from UCP and executive producers John Hlavin (“Shooter” and “The Shield”), Fredrik Malmberg (“Conan the Barbarian”) and David Straiton (“Bates Motel” and “Hemlock Grove”), who will also direct.  James Roland, who created the series and penned the pilot, will also serve as co-executive producer.  Mark Wheeler will serve as producer. The series is currently in production in South Africa.

 

Roday is represented by ICM Partners and Principal Entertainment LA.

 

About Universal Cable Productions:

Universal Cable Productions (UCP) creates innovative and critically acclaimed original scripted and digital content across media platforms for domestic and international distribution. In the U.S., UCP’s programming can be seen across various networks including the Golden Globe and Peabody award-winning drama “Mr. Robot,” “Colony,” “Playing House,” “Royal Pains” and “Suits” on USA Network; “The Magicians,” “12 Monkeys,” and “Killjoys” on Syfy; “Girlfriends’ Guide To Divorce” on Bravo; “The Royals,” on E!; and “Difficult People,” on Hulu. UCP’s content library includes critic and fan favorites such as the Emmy-award winning “Monk” as well as “Psych” and “Battlestar Galactica.” Universal Cable Productions is a part of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. Follow us @UCPisTV.

 

About Syfy:

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)

What do you think? Are you a fan of Roday? Do you plan to watch the first season of Blood Drive on Syfy? Tell us.