How did the series come about?

How did the series come about?

Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett, who had worked as writers together on the CW show Nikita, originally developed a script for a time travel show called Splinter as a sample of the work they could do, and started shopping it around producers.

Eventually the script landed with the producers of the original 12 Monkeys film who held the TV rights to the concept and were looking to adapt it for TV, They asked Matalas and Fickett if they could redevelop Splinter into 12 Monkeys.

In interviews Fickett has commented that initially they were unsure as the film had such a major following and that they were fans of the film themselves, but they eventually agreed.

Notably, though the series has many plot points and characters in common in the first season, it quickly moves away for the film, and primarily follows the concepts from the the original Splinter.