Defiance

In the near future Earth bears the scars of a sudden, dramatic arrival: seven alien races materialize and reshape the planet. In Defiance, a rugged frontier town that sits at the crossroads of many cultures, humans and aliens begin to build a shared society from wreckage and hope. The city is part melting pot, part contested territory, where old loyalties collide with new alliances and every decision ripples through a diverse cast. Joshua Nolan, a seasoned lawman, and Amanda Rosewater, the town administrator, must balance order with the unpredictable realities of alien politics, strained relationships, and a landscape that rarely stays quiet. The show threads political intrigue with frontiersman grit as it probes coexistence under pressure and the ways communities adapt.

Defiance was created by Michael Taylor, Rockne S O'Bannon and Kevin Murphy for Syfy, debuting in 2013 as an original, network backed science fiction drama with a sprawling city at the heart of a fragile human alien alliance, a show built for TV and streaming alike.

Beyond TV, Defiance helped spark a cross media experiment by pairing a live action series with a companion video game released the same year. The shared universe let viewers and players influence events across both formats, a trail marker for later multimedia franchises.

Reception to Defiance was mixed but its ambition stands out. The series threads frontier grit with political maneuvering, exploring how a newly formed multi species society negotiates power, loyalty and identity while everyday life keeps testing the rules of coexistence.