SCI-FI Channel has greenlit "Caprica," the much-anticipated prequel series to hit series "Battlestar Galactica," reports Variety.

"Caprica" will star Eric Stoltz, Esai Morales, Paula Malcomson and Polly Walker, and will be set 50 years prior to "Galactica's" seminal attack on human civilization by those dreaded 'droids the Cylons. The series will focus on the Earthlike planet of Caprica as two rival families deal with, among other topical issues, the broader implications of their society's emerging artificial intelligence technology sector.

Produced by Universal Cable Productions, "Caprica" will be executive produced by "Galactica" masterminds Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, along with Remi Aubuchon ("24"). The pilot was co-written by Aubuchon and Moore and directed by Jeffrey Reiner ("Friday Night Lights.")

Having already produced a two-hour backdoor pilot, SCI FI Channel is aiming for an early 2010 premiere for the series, with production starting around the middle of next year, probably in Vancouver, where both "Galactica" and the spin-off's pilot were shot.

"We want people to come to this who have never heard of 'Battlestar Galactica,'" SCI FI president Dave Howe said. "I think, because ('Galactica's') backdrop was space and spaceships, there was a barrier to entry for some viewers. 'Caprica' has none of that. It's an intense family drama set on an Earthlike planet, in the near future, speaking to a lot of the ethical dilemmas that we as a human race are going to have to face very shortly."