Riese, the sci-fi webseries created by Foundation Visual Art & Design grad Ryan Copple, is continuing its ascent in the online world.

After drawing in almost 1.5 million upload views on the series’ YouTube channel, Copple and his partners have made a distribution deal with the digital division of American cable television channel, Syfy.

Starting tomorrow (Tuesday, October 26), Riese will be relaunched as Riese: Kingdom Falling. 10 newly-edited episodes will be broadcast within the U.S. (not in Canada yet, unfortunately) on Syfy.com/Riese on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The steampunk-infused world and its storylines have been enhanced, and Amanda Tapping (of Sanctuary fame) will now feature as the series’ narrator.

Riese: Kingdom Falling will also be available via Sony’s PS3, Microsoft’s Xbox, and Amazon.

“We’ve thrilled to be relaunching Riese: Kingdom Falling on Syfy.com, as it will give it so much exposure to its target audience,” Ryan says. “And, if it does well, we’ll be keen to start looking into television development.”

“Personally, I still can’t get over what an amazing journey it’s been. It was almost one year ago that we first released the episodes on YouTube. I had always hoped that the show would get viewed, but this has been a dream come true, and a real testament that independent producers can succeed.”

We’re extremely proud of Ryan’s continued success, and that of his fellow VFSers connected to this project: Acting grad Emilie Ullerup, Writing grads Alyssa Ciccarelli and Miguel Valdez Lopez, Acting Instructor Bart Anderson, and Entertainment Business Management Instructor (and Riese Producer/Director) Nicholas Humphries.

Those in the U.S. can visit Syfy.com/Riese Tuesdays and Thursdays to see all 10 episodes! Follow Riese on Twitter to get up-to-date announcements: @riesetheseries