Julian McMahon to star in 'Childhood's End' miniseries

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Former Nip/Tuck star Julian McMahon is to play the male lead in the upcoming six-hour miniseries Childhood's End, Syfy announced Wednesday.

The Australian actor will portray an enigmatic American entrepreneur in the small-screen adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke's influential novel.

Co-starring Charles Dance, Mike Vogel, Ashley Zukerman, Daisy Betts, Osy Ikhile and Yael Stone, the miniseries to be shot by director Nick Hurran in Australia. It is scheduled to premiere on the cable network in 2015.

"Hailed as a revolutionary work of science fiction since its publishing in 1953, Childhood's End follows the peaceful invasion of Earth by the mysterious Overlords, whose arrival begins decades of apparent utopia under indirect alien rule, at the cost of human identity and culture which may ultimately threaten the very survival of mankind," a news release said.