Development In June 2011,
Syfy announced that they would be producing a television series which was being developed by
Rockne S. O'Bannon and would be produced by
Universal Cable Productions. It was also announced that the TV series would be connected to
a video game being produced by
Trion Worlds. Casting announcements began in January 2012, with
Grant Bowler being the first to be cast. Bowler plays Joshua Nolan, "the law keeper in a bustling frontier boomtown that is one of the new world's few oases of civility and inclusion." On February 8, TVWise revealed profiles for five of the main characters. On March 8, 2012, it was announced that Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran and Jaime Murray had been cast in the series.
Stephanie Leonidas plays Irisa, "a beautiful warrior who is part of an alien race called the Irathients";
Tony Curran plays Datak Tarr, "the right hand to Amanda"; and Jaime Murray plays Stahma Tarr, "Datak’s beautiful and proper wife". the latter of which was never used. By the end of the series, Peterson had developed four full languages (Castithan, Irathient, Indojisnen, and Kinuk'aaz), and their respective scripts. On May 10, 2013, Syfy renewed Defiance for a 13-episode second season to air starting in June 2014, with production from August to December 2013.
Alien races Votan races: • Castithans: The Castithans are an aristocratic and ethereal race from the planet Daribo. Known for their pale skin and beautiful features, they have a cunning intelligence and unbridled ambition that helped them adapt to life on Earth. Very conservative in many aspects of life, including politics and a rigid caste system, Castithans are liberal with sexuality. They are disliked by the other members of the collective for their perceived arrogant and imperialist manner. The role of bathing as a family in their culture is another quirk that sets them apart from the other races. In season 2, it was confirmed that they can reproduce with humans. • Irathients: Irathients are the most common Votan race living on Earth, hailing from the planet Irath. Other races, including Humans, often view them as feral due to their tribal nature and love of the natural world. Irathients have deep red hair, highly athletic builds and bronze skin covered in naturally occurring contrasting patterns. While they're quite able to succeed at any occupation, most Irathients prefer to be farmers in order to honor their forefathers. Irathients are able to produce viable offspring with humans. • Indogenes: Indogenes are a manufactured species. They tend to be slender, bald, with
hexagonal-patterned skin, which is called "protoform" and it can heal injuries in Omecs, == Broadcast ==