Jane Espenson

There was a bit of nervousness amongst Caprica fans as to whether this announcement would ever be made, but here it is: Caprica will return to Syfy channel in January for the second half of its first season. The freshman Battlestar Galactica spinoff struggled to find a sizable audience, and the scant mentions of the series – along with rumors of Ron Moore developing a brand new BSG spinoff – seemed to suggest some hedging on Syfy’s behalf. Well get that idea right out of your head. Syfy has announced that the second half of Caprica’s first season will launch nearly a year after its first, in January 2011.

In terms of what season 1.5 of Caprica holds for fans, it does seem that the story trajectory may be changing rapidly. In the first half the conflict between the Cylons and the humans seemed distant, in the next installment Syfy says that the conflict looms near. "As the season races towards its stunning conclusion, events of each episode lay the framework for the inevitable (and brutal) clash between the newly-created Cylon race and their human creators." Syfy declared in a press release. Check out the full text below.

New York, New York – July 21, 2010 – Syfy has announced the highly-anticipated return of critically-acclaimed series Caprica. The second half of season one premieres in January 2011 (date TBA), and kicks off with a thrilling pace as the citizens of Caprica deal with the chaotic aftermath of the mid-season finale’s harrowing events.

In season 1.5, the once idyllic world of Caprica – as well as life across the colonies – falls prey to an explosive chain reaction of consequences set off by the characters’ many questionable actions in the season’s first half. Tensions rise, power shifts and the line between reality and the virtual world becomes increasingly blurred as everyone struggles to learn – and conquer – the stakes in this volatile setting. As the season races towards its stunning conclusion, events of each episode lay the framework for the inevitable (and brutal) clash between the newly-created Cylon race and their human creators.

An all-new trailer for season 1.5 will premiere at Caprica’s Comic-Con panel on July 23, and before landing on Syfy.com, it will be available exclusively on Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace on Xbox LIVE and Windows PCs through the Zune PC software available for free at www.zune.net. (July 26).

Caprica stars Eric Stoltz (Daniel Graystone), Paula Malcomson (Amanda Graystone), Esai Morales (Joseph Adama), Polly Walker (Sister Clarice Willow), Alessandra Torresani (Zoe Graystone), Magda Apanowicz (Lacy) and Sasha Roiz (Sam Adama).

Caprica is a prequel to the award-winning series Battlestar Galactica. The series is from Universal Cable Productions, and is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick. Jonas Pate serves as co-executive producer and director.