Sci-Fi Storm

Syfy’s fan-favorite series Haven will get a new resident when Laura Mennell (Nina Theroux on Alphas, Janey Slater on The Watchmen) joins the cast in a recurring role playing Dr. Erin Reid, a brilliant and beautiful epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who fears the town of Haven is on the verge of a deadly viral outbreak. Filming for the series’ 26-episode fifth season is currently underway on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Dr. Erin Reid is a worldly scientist whose focus is investigating the diseases that plague mankind. She’s a force to be reckoned with, as Audrey Parker (Emily Rose), Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant) and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) quickly discover. Meanwhile, Dwight Hendrickson (Adam Copeland) works overtime to keep the troubles hidden from Erin. But, when she unknowingly uncovers a genetic marker found only in Troubled people, the residents of Haven realize her discovery could lead to a scientific cure for the Troubles that plague the town.

When the series returns this fall, Haven’s protectors are thrust into uncharted waters: Duke is now a ticking time bomb, fighting to contain the Troubles within him, while Nathan faces his greatest fear that Audrey — the woman he’s fought so desperately to save — may be gone forever.

Tallying its best season ever in social mentions and Twitter activity, Haven’s fourth season was up 11% among Adults 18-34 (314,000) and up 3% year-to-year among Adults 18-49 (926,000). Overall, Haven averaged 1.1 million Adults 25-54 and 2.3 million viewers per week and ranked second in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 among original cable series in its Friday 10PM ET/PT time slot. (All data Live +7).

Haven, based on the novella The Colorado Kid from renowned author Stephen King, follows former FBI agent Audrey Parker, who becomes a cop in the small town of Haven, Maine, and soon discovers the town’s many secrets, which also hold the key to unlocking the mysteries of her lost past.

From leading independent studio Entertainment One (eOne), Haven is co-commissioned by Shaw Media in Canada and globally via Universal Networks International (UNI).

The creative team behind Haven includes executive producers John Morayniss (Klondike, Rogue) from eOne Television and David MacLeod (Legends of the Fall, The Ray Bradbury Theater) of Big Motion Pictures, who are joined by Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller, Scott Shepherd (Stephen King’s The Dead Zone, Greek) of Piller/Segan/Shepherd and Matt McGuinness (Journeyman, Franklin and Bash) and Gabrielle Stanton (The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy). The series was developed by Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn (Stephen King’s The Dead Zone).

Haven is produced by Entertainment One and Big Motion Pictures in association with Piller/Segan/Shepherd and airs on Syfy in the US, Showcase in Canada and internationally on UNI’s multiple Syfy channels. Entertainment One controls the worldwide distribution rights to the one-hour series.

War is coming and humans face extinction! Check out the sneak peek of the season premiere of Dominion below, including the stars describing the fight between the angels and humans…and tune in for the premiere Thursday at 9/8c on Syfy!
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The second season of Defiance is just a couple days away! Check out this preview of a couple scenes, and tune in Thursday at 8/7c!
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On the next Continuum, John Doe remembers how he and Kiera are connected. Watch the next episode of Continuum, “3 Minutes to Midnight”, Friday at 10/9c.
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Heads up! The Wil Wheaton Project and Heroes of Cosplay are swapping time slots starting next week…The Wil Wheaton Project will air at 9/8c on Tuesdays, and Heroes of Cosplay will air at 10/9c.

The Doctor sure does like to travel – and he will be traveling around the world this August! As part of a promotional World Tour to build up the buzz for the upcoming Series 8, new Doctor Peter Capaldi and companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) will visit 7 cities around the world in just 12 days, starting in Cardiff, Wales on August 7th and finishing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 19th – presumably around the debut of the show. Showrunner Steven Moffat will appear at select cities as well.

The other cities are London, England; Seoul, South Korea; Sydney, Australia; New York; and Mexico City.

From the official release:

Following on from last year’s global smash-hit 50th anniversary, BBC Worldwide announce a major global publicity tour to launch the new series of Doctor Who and introduce Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor. Doctor Who: The World Tour will begin in the UK on August 7 and finish in Brazil on August 19.

The trip will see Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi, on-screen companion Jenna Coleman, and the show’s lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat*, visit seven cities across five continents in 12 days, where they will attend fan events and media interviews, publicising Series 8 to a global audience.

The tour marks the largest ever promotional undertaking in Doctor Who’s 50-year history and will kick off in Welsh capital and home of the series’ production, Cardiff, before taking in London (UK), Seoul (South Korea), Sydney (Australia), New York (US), Mexico City (Mexico) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). More details of the itinerary will be available from doctorwho.tv soon, as well as reports from the tour as it happens, which fans everywhere will be able to enjoy across social and digital platforms.

Peter Capaldi has commented on his excitement ahead of the tour: “It’s fantastic that so many people across the world love Doctor Who. After 8 months solid filming deep in the world of monsters, Jenna and I are thrilled to be heading for the Planet of Fans”.

Executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat adds: “I’ve always thought we’d all be a lot safer if the Doctor conquered the world, instead of the Daleks. Now with Jenna and Peter leading the charge, it looks like it’s going to happen. I’ll be bringing up the rear to handle the exposition scenes, and maybe carry some bags.”

Doctor Who Series 8 is due to premiere in the UK in August. US broadcaster BBC America will transmit on the same day. Doctor Who is distributed by BBC Worldwide to over 200 territories.

*Due to production commitments, Steven Moffat will be unable to attend to the entire tour. The cities he will join the tour for will be announced soon.

After two wildly successful appearances in Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights, AMC’s The Walking Dead will return for a third consecutive year – a first for the event – and this time it will be inspired by Terminus, the mysterious location the survivors arrived at when Season 4 ended…and discovered it doesn’t seem to be the haven they hoped for.

This year’s bone-chilling mazes will place guests at the heart of a harrowing journey to seek sanctuary at Terminus, an elusive destination that promises community for all. Mirroring the terror that befell the residents of the West Georgia Correctional Facility, now overrun by savage walkers, the experience will send guests fleeing from the fallen prison into unknown territory as they once again stage a desperate battle for survival against flesh-eating walkers and ruthless humans.

The Walking Dead is based on the graphic novel written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The series tells the story of the months and years after a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by sheriff Rick Grimes, who travel in search of a safe and secure home. The Walking Dead is the number-one show on television for adults 18-49. AMC’s The Walking Dead returns for Season 5 this October.

“This has been an incredible collaboration and I am thrilled to be working once again with the creative teams at Universal Orlando and Universal Studios Hollywood to bring the world of ‘The Walking Dead’ to our dedicated fans,” said Greg Nicotero, Executive Producer and Special Effect Makeup Supervisor for the series. “I can’t wait for visitors to experience first-hand some of the iconic moments from Season 4 in what will be the biggest, most exciting and frightening ‘Walking Dead’ maze to date.”
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Syfy today announced that Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town, The Bridge) will star in the channel’s new original, six hour event series Ascension, portraying eponymous ship’s captain, William Denninger. Van Holt joins the previously announced Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) in the intergalactic mystery series; the two will play husband and wife.

A politician as well as a military man, Denninger is a natural leader. Rising through the ship’s ranks, he became captain of the Ascension as a result of his heroic actions during a catastrophic fire that nearly destroyed the ship early in its voyage. While strong-willed and confident, he and his wife, Viondra (Helfer), have a very public yet tortured marriage.

In 1963, the U.S. government launched a covert space mission sending hundreds of men, women and children on a century-long voyage aboard the starship Ascension to populate a new world. Nearly 50 years into the journey, as they approach the point of no return, the mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

Brian Van Holt will appear opposite Reese Witherspoon in Jean-Marc Vallee’s upcoming feature film Wild for Fox Searchlight. His other film credits include Black Hawk Down directed by Ridley Scott, Confidence directed by James Foley, Swat directed by Clark Johnson, House of Wax directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, and Bullet to the Head directed by Walter Hill.

On television, he appears in a recurring role as “Ray Burton” in FX’s hit series The Bridge starring Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger. He also starred in the TBS/ABC comedy Cougar Town, and previously starred in David Milch’s HBO series John from Cincinatti. He is repped by APA (agency) and Circle of Confusion (management).

Ascension is an ambitious original drama created and written by Philip Levens (Smallville) who will serve as Executive Producer and Showrunner. The series will be produced in Montreal, QC by Lionsgate Television and Sea To Sky Studios in association with Blumhouse Productions. Jason Blum (Stranded, The River, film franchises Paranormal Activity and The Purge) and Mark Stern are Executive Producers on the project along with Ivan Fecan, Tim Gamble and Brett Burlock on behalf of Sea To Sky Studios. The event series will be co-financed and distributed by Universal Cable Productions and Lionsgate Television.

Ascension is slated to launch in November 2014 and air through December.

Syfy announced that it will acquire the second season of Canadian import werewolf series Bitten from Entertainment One, which will premiere in 2015 with 10 new episodes.

The show, based on the Women Of The Otherworld series of novels from Kelley Armstrong, stars Laura Vandervoort (Smallville), a lone female werewolf trying to live a normal life when she’s recalled to her pack to help against an unknown enemy.

The first of four planned serialized event series as part of a master plan between Netflix and Marvel will be Daredevil, a 13 episode series that recently signed a showrunner in Steven S. DeKnight (Smallville, Spartacus), and may have found their superhero star in Charlie Cox (Boardwalk Empire).

Deadline reports that Cox is likely to take on the mantle of the blind superhero Daredevil, otherwise known as Matt Murdock. Cox has been a hot commodity, with CBS trying to give him a series lead with two straight pilots, but neither have been picked up. Reportedly he hasn’t been announced for the role yet because he hasn’t officially been released from the last pilot.

This won’t be the first live action Daredevil however – it was infamously made into a feature film in 2003 starring Ben Affleck in the title role, and was pretty much universally panned by critics and fans. Prior to that, Rex Smith portrayed the character in 1989’s The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, a TV movie continuation of the TV series. It is also famous – it marked the first appearance of Stan Lee in a cameo in a Marvel adaptation, starting a long tradition…