It's official: My next book is about Battlestar Galactica!
I'm writing a new book about Battlestar Galactica, with many new interviews with the cast, crew and creative team. Subscribe to get updates on the pre-order date and many more BSG treats. Mo Say We All!
Long ago, the gods decided my fate, and I have embraced it: I’m writing a book about Battlestar Galactica!
I made it official at the Creation convention that took place in New Jersey this past weekend; it was the ideal place to announce Battlestar Galactica: The Untold Story of the Revolutionary Drama. Mary McDonnell could not join us at the gathering, but she sent greetings to the fans as well as an announcement:
Thank you, President Roslin!
I was thrilled when I received that audio file. And I am really frakking thrilled about this book.
Lately, I’ve been dropping hints about the exciting new project I'm working on, and every time I did, a lot of you guessed the subject correctly. Every person who replied with gifs of the Battlestar Galactica jumping into the New Caprica atmosphere, you were right!
I've been doing new interviews for nearly a year, and trust me, this book is going to be chock full of revelatory and illuminating info, direct from the folks who made the show.
Years ago, I thought about compiling all my Chicago Tribune BSG stories into a book — goodness knows there was enough of it. My in-depth episodic coverage of the final season alone could have filled a sizable volume, not to mention all the other interviews, features and reviews I posted during the show's run.
Life intervened, as it usually does. But that’s not a bad thing: The time that’s passed since BSG was on the air has brought perspective — not just for me, but for many folks who worked on the drama. Making a TV show is often a battle, but the fog of war has drifted away. Everyone involved, including me, can see a lot of things more clearly from a distance.
Not long after the 2024 BSG convention in Chicago, I began working on those new interviews – talking not just with the cast, but with many others on the creative team (and I plan to do even more interviews between now and early 2026). Dozens of people who worked on the show are supplying fascinating, amusing and intelligent insights as they thoughtfully revisit – and at times re-evaluate – what they all accomplished. I thought I knew a lot about this show and the making of it, but they're filling me in a big array of intriguing (and mind-melting) things I never knew about.
And no matter how proud I am of my coverage from back in the day (and I think it’s solid, especially this series finale extravaganza), there's no shame in admitting there were holes in my coverage. Back in the aughts, a.k.a. the Peak TV era, there was a lot of TV to write about. Now that I have the time and space to go deeper on the BSG saga, I'll be able to fill in some of those gaps. It's been exciting to hear from and about many unsung (or less-sung) folks who worked really hard to make the show as exceptional as it was.
Were there misfires along the way? Of course. One of the pleasures of these conversations has been the honesty I've generally encountered about things that people wish had gone differently or would do differently now. In my experience, true artists learn as much – if not more – from their mistakes as from their successes.
But my main point will be that this was a landmark show that deserves to be in the conversation about the greatest TV dramas of all time. I think I'm well placed to make that case, as a critic and a journalist. And to make the case that it was not only timely then but now. Frankly, Battlestar Galactica has only gotten more relevant since it ended. That was a big part of my pitch for this book — scenes that could be ripped from BSG are playing out in America right now. Every day.
Of course, the show was far from just a post-9/11 allegory (although that was a big reason it was commissioned in the first place). Battlestar Galactica was also one of the finest character-driven dramas of all time, an adventure story, a war chronicle, and a set of bittersweet romances. It delved into spirituality and artificial sentience, it explored what constitutes personhood and free will. It was a saga that was equal parts tragic, stirring and heartbreaking. It was also funny as hell sometimes.
By stripping away the specific markers around the geopolitical turmoil of the Aughts, it freed itself to explore power dynamics, morality, faith, oppression, war and rebellion in refreshing, unexpected and surprising ways. And it made those events riveting by exploring ever-evolving relationships that had the kind of texture, heft and weight that put it in the top tier of television programs.
In situations that were believably complicated, Battlestar Galactica asked what freedom, community and leadership should look like. It probed who deserved to survive and why. What are people willing to fight for, and what will they give up to survive? Was what they gave up worth it? The answers to those questions were never easy, but the story itself was often thought-provoking and moving as it explored those big ideas.
Mariner Press, which published my first book, Burn It Down in 2023, grabbed this project with both hands, and right out of the gate, made its enthusiasm for it apparent. This means a lot to me, for many reasons. My editor, Rakia Clark, is a great at her job, and her feedback and insights will once again make my book better. Also, the entire team at Mariner did an excellent job with Burn It Down, and I’m tremendously glad that we’ve put the band back together for this book. (Also shoutout to my agent, Sonali Chanchani, who is theeee best.)
A lot of things have been hard this year, but this book about this show landing with this publishing team was unquestionably the best-case scenario. And I'm fortunate because, even as the real world evokes the events of the show in ways that sometimes can be quite disturbing, almost every day, I get to talk to this smart, searching, funny, talented group of creative people about a show that means so much to them – and me.
I’ll draw upon my earlier work where appropriate, of course, but as I said, all this has not happened before. This is not a rehash of my earlier coverage. And here's one thing that I hope will be a fun extra: The book will contain a photo section with lots of never-before-seen images.
Last year, I penned a wrapup of the Creation Battlestar Galactica convention in Chicago, and, aside from sharing a few favorite photos in this post, I'm not going to attempt that this year. A lot of interesting revelations will go into the book, of course. But it's been a challenging year for a lot of us, and for me, the week preceding the convention last week was ... a lot (believe it or not, I wrote this before the Jimmy Kimmel thing, but it's still relevant). Suffice to say, at the convention, many intriguing, chaotic and amusing conversations were had (and fans asked such good questions).
What I will also say about this year's convention is this: This show's fans are not just a delight but an inspiration. Chatting in the lobby or in hallways or in the bar or the vendor room, we went deep on our favorite moments, our thoughts about the show's legacy, episodes or actors or characters who had an effect on our lives, and so on. The fans ran the gamut of all ages – folks in their 20s right up through folks in my age range in beyond.
They gave me gifts, and their input and observations were often gifts. I was glad that we could all come together to celebrate a story that we still cherish so much. And I was particularly glad to see that fans who got into the show a year or two ago were just as passionate as those of us who've been watching and rewatching it for decades.
Subscribe to this free newsletter (and my social media, if you care to) for updates on the book's progress. Starting next year, I hope to post various tidbits, extras and Q&A related to the book. I've got a ton of fantastic material from the past and present, and not all of it will fit in the book. So subscribe and stay tuned for goodies that may be coming your way.
And she has a plan: The plan is for this book to come out in 2028, the 50th anniversary of OG BSG and the 25th anniversary of the reboot. Preorders should be available in 2027. I look forward to sharing this labor of love with you all.
I think Ron Moore expressed a lot of relevant thoughts in a clip that he sent to the convention:
Ron Moore says hi to Creation's 2025 Tribute to Battlestar Galactica
See you on the other side.
