Terra Nova (TV series)
A family flees a dying future for a prehistoric colony.
Terra Nova is a science fiction drama series from American television, created by Kelly Marcel and Craig Silverstein. It ran for a single season on Fox, from September 26 to December 19, 2011. The story follows the Shannon family as they join a colony located 85 million years in the past, having escaped a dystopian future in the mid-22nd century marked by severe overpopulation and pollution.
The narrative begins in 2149, where humanity faces extinction due to overcrowding and deteriorating air quality. After scientists discover a one-way temporal rift, they organize pilgrimages to a parallel timeline resembling the Cretaceous Period. The main characters are police officer Jim Shannon, his wife Elisabeth, and their children Josh, Maddy, and Zoe. They settle in the colony called Terra Nova, Latin for "New Earth." Elisabeth, a doctor, is selected for her medical skills, and her two older children accompany her. Jim, imprisoned for violating population control laws by hiding their third child and assaulting an official, stows away to join them. He eventually convinces the colony’s leader, Commander Nathaniel Taylor, that his police experience is valuable.
Opposing the colony is a separatist group known as the Sixers, named for arriving on the Sixth Pilgrimage. They work with corporate industrialists to strip the Cretaceous Earth of resources and send them back to 2149 for profit, causing environmental damage. It later emerges that Taylor’s estranged son, Lucas, is allied with the Sixers. Toward the series’ end, Lucas perfects two-way travel, allowing the industrialists and their private army, the Phoenix Group, to invade Terra Nova. In the finale, Jim returns to 2149 to destroy the gateway, forcing the Phoenix Group to retreat to the nearby Badlands, where a wooden ship’s figurehead is found, apparently left by another temporal rift.
The main cast includes Jason O’Mara as Jim Shannon, a former Chicago narcotics detective who escapes prison and joins the colony’s security, eventually becoming third-in-command. Shelley Conn plays Dr. Elisabeth Shannon, a trauma surgeon who helps Jim escape. Landon Liboiron portrays Josh Shannon, the 17-year-old son who initially resents his father for leaving his girlfriend behind. Naomi Scott is Maddy Shannon, the 16-year-old daughter, depicted as intelligent but socially awkward. Alana Mansour plays Zoe Shannon, the five-year
- created_by
- Kelly Marcel and Craig Silverstein
- network
- Fox Network
- aired
- September 26 to December 19, 2011
- seasons
- 1
- genre
- Science fiction drama
- setting
- 2149 and Cretaceous Period (85 million years ago)
Lore & Background
The series is initially set in 2149, when overpopulation and declining air quality threaten all life on Earth. When scientists discover a temporal rift permitting one-way human transmission, they initiate a series of pilgrimages to a parallel time stream resembling Earth's Cretaceous Period. The series focuses primarily on police officer James 'Jim' Shannon, his wife Elisabeth, and their three children Josh, Maddy, and Zoe, as they join the colony named Terra Nova, Latin for 'New Earth'. Elisabeth Shannon is chosen for her medical expertise; her husband, imprisoned for violating population control by harboring a third child and assaulting an official agent, stows away and eventually convinces the colony's leader, Commander Nathaniel Taylor, that his police expertise is useful.
Opposing the colony is a group of separatists known as the Sixers, working with corporate industrialists to strip the Cretaceous Earth of its resources and transmit them to 2149. It is later revealed that Commander Taylor's estranged grown son, Lucas, is working with the Sixers. Toward the end of the series, Lucas perfects travel to and from the future, enabling a private army called the Phoenix Group to invade Terra Nova. At the end of the series, Jim Shannon returns to 2149 to destroy the gateway permitting travel to the Cretaceous, whereupon the Phoenix Group retreats to the nearby Badlands, leaving behind a wooden ship's figurehead apparently located there by another temporal rift.
Reader's Guide
Terra Nova represents a notable attempt at a large-scale science fiction series on network television, blending family drama with themes of environmental collapse, overpopulation, and second chances. Despite a high-concept premise and substantial production values, the show was cancelled after a single season, with Fox announcing the cancellation on March 5, 2012. The series explored conflicts between the colony's leadership and separatists, as well as the moral complexities of time travel and resource exploitation. Its legacy lies in its ambitious world-building and the unresolved storylines left by its early cancellation, including the fate of the Phoenix Group and the mysterious figurehead. The show remains a reference point for discussions of short-lived but visually ambitious sci-fi television.
Did You Know?
- The series aired on Fox Network for one season from September 26 to December 19, 2011.
- The colony name 'Terra Nova' is Latin for 'New Earth', 'New World', or 'New Land'.
- Commander Nathaniel Taylor was the first colonist, surviving 118 days alone before others arrived.
- The Sixers are so named because they arrived in the 'Sixth Pilgrimage'.
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