Sci-Fi Storm

Starz has finally set the premiere date of the eagerly anticipated TV adaption of Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling book series being executive produced by Ron Moore (Helix, Battlestar Galactica). The 16-episode first season will premiere on August 9th at 9/8c.

The story follows Claire Randall (Super 8), a combat nurse in 1945, who while on holiday attempting to repair a strained relationship with her husband Frank (Tobias Menzies, Casino Royale), suddenly finds herself in 1743 Scotland and striking up a relationship with Scottish rebel Jamie (Sam Heughan, A Princess for Christmas).

The CW has been cleaning up it’s schedule today for the next season to make room for the pilot pickups, and some genre shows have felt the axe. The Tomorrow People and Star-Crossed were not renewed, with the former not finding a foothold with the CW’s primary demographics, and the latter’s mid-season start possibly falling victim to the weak lead-in.

On the other side, The 100, which looks to be a surprise hit, gained renewal along with the rebooted Beauty and the Beast, but the number of episodes has not been decided – some believe they may get less than the full 22 episodes. The 100 will also say goodbye to two of the co-runners of the show, Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain, who were there to help shepherd executive producer and creator Jason Rothenberg for it’s freshman run, but he will go solo going forward.