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Syfy’s new VR crime drama will be watchable through the Oculus Rift

Syfy’s new VR crime drama will be watchable through the Oculus Rift

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VR television for VR headsets

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Syfy is staying true to its name with an upcoming short-form TV show called Halcyon, a crime drama about virtual reality that viewers will be able to watch using VR headsets. Commissioned by NBCUniversal and produced by studio Secret Location, Halcyon will feature 10 episodes distributed through Syfy's standard channel while five episodes will be viewable through Oculus VR's Rift headset. That would appear to leave out viewers who haven't put down $600 for a Rift preorder — or don't own an expensive gaming PC to even use the headset. However, NBC says there will be short recaps for every VR made available online.

The show is set in 2058 when there are apparently virtual reality detectives, one of which is tasked with investigating a real-life murder that takes place in VR, something the press release says "shouldn’t even be possible," go figure. And with a name like Halcyon, you can imagine the show idealizing a time before VR, when people just murdered each other in the real world. (We're thinking the show's message about a virtual reality-obsessed future may end up being a bit corny.) Still, Syfy and NBC jumping into VR programming, even silly shows about VR crime, is a bold move and should make for some interesting experimental TV. There's no premiere date set, but filming started this month in Toronto.