Comet, the multicast network owned by Sinclair, will pay homage to its past and future programming with a special movie marathon in commemoration of its 10th anniversary, The Desk has learned.
On Halloween, the network will celebrate one full decade on broadcast television. During its two-day anniversary celebration, Comet will air blockbuster movies like “Minority Report,” “Labyrinth,” “Day of the Dead” and several Star Trek films.
The network originally launched as a joint venture between Sinclair and film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) on October 31, 2015. At that time, Comet relied heavily on MGM’s TV and film library, with much of its programming rooted in the genres of science-fiction and fantasy.
MGM sold its stake in Comet and another multicast network called Charge five years ago. Since then, Comet has leaned into other genres like supernatural and horror — themes that complement its science-fiction and fantasy fare — and engaged with fans through various events, including its annual CometFest convention and a limited run of the Saturn Awards.
Adam Ware, the Senior Vice President of Growth Networks at Sinclair, said the evolution of Comet’s programming strategy is rooted in a mission of super-serving different flavors of fandom. He notes that there are only so many good science-fiction and fantasy series that can work on broadcast TV — but not a deficit of other shows that can co-exist on a network aimed at serving different but complementary subcultures.
“Originally, there had to be some kind of spaceship involved, or there had to be some time-travel element — and that’s cool, but the problem is, there’s only so many shows with spaceships or time travel,” Ware said. “The space is so much deeper and richer than that.”
Ware said the evolved programming started for Comet started to gain momentum when the network acquired the rights to air “Grimm,” an NBC drama that is something of a cross between “Law and Order,” but with fairytale monsters and villains.
Grimm paired nicely with another show Comet picked up, the popular Fox drama “The X-Files.” Both shows still air on Comet, where they are joined by other shows like “Xena: Warrior Princess,” “Stargate: SG-1” and “The Outer Limits.”
Comet has also largely moved away from airing retro monster and alien movies that used to fill its schedule on the weekends. Now, it isn’t uncommon to see contemporary, blockbuster Hollywood films like “The Matrix” and “Jurassic Park” on the network, though there are still campy cult favorites like “Sharknado,” which aired over the summer.
Comet continues to explore ways to reach fans of different subcultures: Earlier this month, the network began airing two documentary series produced by A+E Global Media and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) — “Biography: WWE Legends” and “WWE Rivals” — that air during a programming bock on weekends.
In some corners of the Internet, social media users reacted with mixed feelings after seeing Xena and the WWE documentaries land on Comet. Ware acknowledged their concerns, but asserted the shows involved the same character development and storylines that created life-long fans, just as The X-Files and Star Trek did over the years.
“Hardcore members of the Comet Club, what they want is science-fiction — and more science-fiction,” Ware said. “We want to make sure we continue to serve those fans, but we also need to broaden out.”
To that end, Comet will start airing two new series next year: “The Librarians,” which originally ran on TNT, and the CW Network’s “The Outpost.” Both are rooted in the supernatural genre, which should appeal to fans of science-fiction and thriller series as much, if not more, than they do to those who watch the wrestling documentaries every week.
Ware is also doubling-down on Comet’s commitment to airing premium movies: In 2026, the network will broadcast films like “Robocop,” “The Matrix” trilogy and “Galaxy Quest” at different times of the year. More Star Trek films are coming too, as are other movies that have yet to be announced, but will be instantly recognizable to fans of science-fiction and the other genres served by Comet.
As for the movie marathon that Comet will air on its 10th birthday, the network provided the following schedule for October 31:
- 8:30 a.m. ET: Dark Crystal
- 10:30 a.m.: Labyrinth
- 12:30 p.m.: Donnie Darko
- 3:00 p.m.: Minority Report
- 6:00 p.m.: Star Trek III: Teh Search for Spock
- 8:30 p.m.: Star Trek: The Voyage Home
- 11:00 p.m.: Limitless
- 1:00 a.m.: Day of the Dead
The movies, Ware said, will pay homage to the science-fiction and supernatural themes that Comet embraced early on while offering a good look into how the multicast network will evolve in the years to come.
Comet is widely available on broadcast TV across the country, and a national feed of the network is also offered on pay TV platforms like Dish Network, Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV and Fubo. A free stream of Comet’s national feed is available on the Comet website.
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