NYTIMES - Game of Thrones fans discouraged by the news that the show won't return until 2019 can perhaps take heart in another announcement made Thursday (Jan 4).

Nightflyers, based on a different work by George R.R. Martin, is being turned into a series by Syfy and Netflix.

That said, Martin is about the only thing the two shows share.

Nightflyers is based on the author's macabre sci-fi novella, originally published in 1980, about a crew of scientists on an expedition to make contact with alien life. It was previously turned into a low-budget horror movie released in 1987.

Syfy made the official announcement, but Martin has previously discussed the Nightflyers series in a blog post, saying that it would debut this summer "if all goes according to schedule". (Syfy said a premiere date was still to be determined.)

The author, currently at work on The Winds Of Winter, the long-awaited next A Song Of Ice And Fire novel, will be credited as an executive producer on Nightflyers but isn't expected to be directly involved.

"While it departs considerably from my novella in certain details, the essence of the story remains the same," Martin wrote on his blog. "The teleplay was quite strong on its own terms, and a good launching point for a series."

Jeff Buhler, who wrote the coming Jacob's Ladder remake, adapted Nightflyers for television and will also executive produce. Daniel Cerone, a writer and producer for The Blacklist and Dexter, among other series, will be the showrunner.

The show will star Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire) and Brian F. O'Byrne (Mildred Pierce), among others. It will run on Syfy in the United States and on Netflix outside the country.