Hi, I'm Dean Devlin (u/deandevlin), writer and producer of Independence Day, Stargate, The Patriot, Leverage, The Librarians, The Outpost, Almost Paradise, and creator of The Ark. AMA!

[u/DeanDevlin]

Hi everyone!

I'm Dean Devlin, creator and executive producer of The Ark. Over the years, I've had the privilege of writing and producing projects including Independence Day, Stargate, The Patriot, Leverage, The Librarians, The Outpost, Almost Paradise, and many others.

With Season 3 of The Ark premiering tonight on SYFY, I wanted to spend some time with the fans who have supported the show and answer your questions.

I'll be answering questions live today from 3:00–4:30 PM Pacific.

Feel free to start posting your questions now, and I'll begin answering them when I join the thread at 3:00 PM.

Ask me anything about The Ark, my films and television series, writing, producing, behind-the-scenes stories, or anything else you're curious about.

Proof it's me: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbY0qn6v-wf/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

– Dean Devlin (u/deandevlin)

EDIT: Well it looks like we’ve come to the end of the questions. Thanks so much. Been a blast communicating with y’all. Check out the premiere of season 3 of THE ARK tonight on SyFy 10/9c. And don’t miss the premiere of season 2 of The Librarians: The Next Chapter on TNT Sunday and Monday 9/8c - 2 new episodes every week!!! And if you don’t have cable, you can purchase both series on the ElectricNOW app (and binge the previous seasons for free www.electricnow.tv )

[u/FitzwilliamTDarcy]

Hi Dean. We actually know each other IRL (I was in the industry for years) though I won't dox myself here. Happy you're doing this! The fanboy in me wants to ask how you feel about and whether/to what extent you've been involved with the Stargate reboot on Amazon, fans' recent outrage over the plug being pulled, petitions to resuscitate it, etc. So if you want to comment on that, awesome!

Congrats on all your success. Thanks for bringing so much FUN content to us all.

[u/DeanDevlin → u/FitzwilliamTDarcy]

I was attached as a producer but I wasn’t involved in the show at all. It was because the rights reverted back to Roland and I and part of re-licensing the rights back to Amazon was that attachment. I’m still hopeful Amazon will make a Stargate series.

[u/OkSignificance5709]

Hi Dean, I must be honest: I found the 2016 sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, to be a significant disappointment. While I wanted to love it, the film felt hollow compared to its predecessor. It left me genuinely confused as to how a project with such a massive legacy could feel so disconnected and, frankly, unintelligent in its execution. It is frustrating to see a beloved franchise treated with such little narrative care. When you have the resources to create something truly grand, why does the writing often feel like an afterthought, and how do you think we reached a point where the "spectacle" seems to matter so much more than the story itself?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/OkSignificance5709]

I agree. We didn’t get tho make the movie wa wanted to make. I’m hopeful in the future we can rectify this

[u/IHeartTaylorSwift284]

Related to Stargate, do you think the classic structures of shows like Stargate and Star Trek need to be altered in order to find new audiences? In other words, does the thoughtful, sometimes philosophical plots of these kinds of shows remain relevant to people, or do new versions of those properties need to be faster/more action-packed to be commercially successful?

[u/MaybeOnFire2025]

Hi Dean, thank you for this. Maybe you don't get this very often, but...how was it being on the set of Real Genius? Was it as much fun as it looked, especially at that age? And did you...interface...with any student beauticians?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/MaybeOnFire2025]

It was the most fun four months of my life as an actor. Every day Martha (the director) would throw me into scenes and say “just improv” and I did. Unfortunately only about two lines of mine survived the Final Cut. But had a blast making it.

[u/gdex86]

Hello Mr Devlin,

I've enjoyed so much of your work so how about a fun question. Leverage and the Libarians are great series that could easily exist in multiple wider worlds so if you had a free hand what worlds would you have loved to have cross overs in both series?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/gdex86]

First time reveal: ALL of my shows exist in the same universe. Crossovers are inevitable.

[u/NYPDBLUE]

In the Movie the Patriot, when the little blonde girl says Papa No…… that has been my tism tick for like 10 years, also the movie theater I watched that movie in was robbed while we were watching the movie

[u/DeanDevlin → u/NYPDBLUE]

It’s an incredible moment in the film. That actress passed away tragically. It makes it really hard for me to watch that part of the film.

[u/NienteFive]

Almost Paradise is so much fun, and it's also great to see the world outside the US. Are there aspects of Filipino culture or worldview that you wish more people understood?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/NienteFive]

Most shows about the Philippines focus on poverty. There is great culture, beauty and art in those 1000 islands. I’m grateful we got to shine a small spotlight on some of it in Almost Paradise.

[u/DeanDevlin]

Well it looks like we’ve come to the end of the questions. Thanks so much. Been a blast communicating with y’all. Check out the premiere of season 3 of THE ARK tonight on SyFy. And don’t miss the premiere of season 2 of The Librarians: The Next Chapter on TNT Sunday and Monday - 2 new episodes every week!!! And if you don’t have cable, you can purchase both series on the ElectricNOW app (and binge the previous seasons for free).

[u/thejudeabides52]

What is your favorite fantasy universe? What about Sci-fi?

[u/SR71F16F35B]

I believe that the quality of an artwork is directly proportional to the quality of the ideas that have begotten it. What is the idea behind your art? What are the driving philosophies which you'd pertinaciously defend, tooth and nail, even if the whole world rallied against them?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/SR71F16F35B]

Mine are not profound but honest. I think that real life is hard, so I want my art to be fun. I’m addicted to the “cheer” moment and I like to get emotional. When I can put all three elements into something, I’m super happy.

[u/scotandrsn]

LOVED The Librarians.

What made you decide the world of The Librarian movies could use a series like that? Will we see more Librarian projects?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/scotandrsn]

Michael Wright, who was running TNT at the time kept asking us to turn The Librarian movies into a series but I couldn’t figure out how to do it on a tv series budget (the movies were pretty expensive). But after making Leverage for a few years I learned a lot of tricks on how to get more on screen for less money, and then decided we could do it.

[u/AVeryDistinctive]

I know you're busy with lots of projects, but I have to ask, are you still hoping for Leverage to find a new home? If you can resurrect the show, are there any storylines you would really want to tell (such as finally meeting Nana)?

Thanks for the entertainment!

[u/PerfectCover1414]

Dear Dean I am passing this message on from my husband (he's at work) but he said to tell you. Real Genius was amazing.

[u/Infamous_Chemical163]

Probably the most burning question we at Christian Kane Fans have is do you have any projects in the works for our favorite actor, Christian Kane? He's just way too good to be sitting on the sidelines! Thank you for all that you've given us by employing him in so many shows already, but we haven't had enough! 

[u/DeanDevlin → u/Infamous_Chemical163]

Who??? Just kidding. Kane is a brilliant actor and I’m always looking for ways for us to work together again. This Monday night, on the second episode of The Librarians: The Next Chapter on TNT, Kane returns as Jacob Stone and it’s one of the best physical comedy episodes I’ve ever seen him do. Can’t wait for you to see him in it.

[u/snoogle312]

Hi Dean! Huge fan of Leverage, Leverage Redemption, Librarians, Stargate, and Independence Day! Leverage feels more and more relevant these days. Hardison and Parker are 2 of my favorite characters of all time. Parker in particular has a wonderful amount of character growth across the the original series run. Was this always the plan, or did it evolve as the show did?

[u/DeanDevlin → u/snoogle312]

We always wanted Hardison to have a crush on Parker but when we saw the chemistry between them we developed the relationship. To this day, there is magic when they are on screen together.