The USA Network has ordered 22 episodes of The Dead Zone, which stars Star Trek: Deep Space Nine alum Nicole deBoer ("Ezri Dax") and is executive produced by Star Trek production alums Michael Piller and Shawn Piller, along with Lloyd Segan.

Based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, the Lions Gate Television/Paramount International Television series was originally developed for UPN. The Hollywood Reporter quotes sources as saying that USA will pay close to $1 million per episode for the series, a record license fee for the cable network.

The series follows Johnny Smith (Anthony Michael Hall), who wakes up from a several-years-long deep coma after an auto accident with clairvoyant abilities. DeBoer stars as Sarah Bracknell, Smith's love interest, a beautiful high school music teacher who moved on and got married when Smith was in a coma, but is conflicted now that he's back.

Michael Piller recognizes the challenges in adapting popular fiction that comes with an audience already familiar with the material. "For now," Piller says, "Let me just say that we are dedicated to honoring the vision of Stephen King with the same degree of devotion I had for honoring Gene Roddenberry's vision on Star Trek. We're very much aware that King's fans are demanding - perhaps even as demanding as Star Trek audiences - and we intend to satisfy them to the best of our ability."

The senior Piller and his production team are "already hiring writers and developing material to begin shooting in Vancouver in March. I'm hoping some of the writers will be names that you'll recognize from Star Trek over the years."

"We were blown away by the pilot," said Jeff Wachtel, USA Network Executive Vice President, Series and Longform Programming. "I think original programming and series in particular is the most important way for a network to differentiate itself from its competition, and what better way to do it than with (a project) that we believe in so strongly and that has such a great title and such a great team behind it."

While Lions Gate will distribute the series in the United States, Paramount will handle the international rights. According to Gary Marenzi, President of Paramount International TV, Paramount is fielding "multiple offers" for The Dead Zone from many major European markets. "It was arguably the most popular pilot we ever had at a Los Angeles Screenings event," he said. "This is the kind of story featuring an Everyman lead with universal appeal that transcends national and cultural boundaries, and we anticipate tremendous response and profitability from key markets around the world."

Michael Piller wrote episodes of TNG, DS9, Voyager and the script for "Star Trek: Insurrection," as well as co-creating DS9 and Voyager, plus executive producing on TNG. His son Shawn Piller, also a producer on Dead Zone, is credited with the stories behind "Death Wish" and "The Q and the Grey."