Television
Primeval: New World finale marathon tomorrow evening
by Doc on Aug.09, 2013, under Television
The final six episodes of Primeval: New World air tomorrow on Syfy starting at 5/4c, so don’t miss it! Check out the sneak peek of the first episode, “Truth”, followed by a teaser for the marathon.
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Continuum preview: “Second Wave”
by Doc on Aug.08, 2013, under Television
The shadowy group attempts to abduct Kiera, forcing her to hide among Julian’s followers…check out “Second Wave”, the next episode of Continuum on Syfy, Friday at 10/9c…and also check out the second video, where Alec, Kiera, and Carlos share their thoughts on the ninth episode of Continuum.
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Haven adds Emma Lahana and Christian Camargo as recurring cast
by Doc on Aug.08, 2013, under Television
Emma Lahana (Hellcats, Emily Owens M.D.) and Christian Camargo (Dexter, The Hurt Locker) will join the cast of Syfy’s popular series Haven when the show returns for its fourth season on Friday, September 13 at 10PM (ET/PT). Both actors join Colin Ferguson (Eureka, Coupling) who portrays William, a handsome mysterious stranger whose secret agenda leads him to Audrey (Emily Rose), as recurring guest stars this fall.
Emma Lahana portrays “Jennifer Mason” an eccentric, energetic and just a bit off-kilter young lady who gets pulled into Haven’s mysteries when she starts hearing strange voices in her head. These voices lead her to crossing paths with a town fixture who suspects her “condition” could produce valuable clues about Audrey Parker’s (Emily Rose) whereabouts. As Jennifer digs into her own personal history, she discovers she may have a bigger role to play in the strange happenings in Haven.
Meanwhile, Christian Camargo plays “Wade Crocker” the estranged half-brother of Haven mainstay Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour). Charming, driven, and slightly devious, Wade is a successful and good-natured businessman who seems to be at the top of his game. But, Wade is a Crocker through and through and could be tempted by a dark and lethal family secret that just may be his undoing.
Season 4 of Haven picks up six months after the devastating events of the Season 3 cliffhanger in which the town was pummeled by a violent meteor storm. Audrey and Duke vanished into thin air leaving an injured Nathan (Lucas Bryant) marooned in Haven.
During its third season, Haven averaged 2.3 million total viewers, 1.1 million Adults 25-54 and 901,000 Adults 18-49. It was the #1 cable drama during its Friday night at 10 PM timeslot (based on Live + 7 data) in Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and total viewers.
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, Dark Blue) as well as Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn (Stephen King’s The Dead Zone), who also developed the series.
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 Universal channels. Entertainment One controls the worldwide distribution rights to the one-hour series and concluded a deal with Germany’s Tele München Group (TMG) for the television rights in Continental Europe.
Defiance back in production next week
by Doc on Aug.06, 2013, under Television
Syfy’s Defiance starts production on its 13-episode second season next week on August 12th in Toronto.
The most ambitious project in Syfy’s 20-year history, and produced by Universal Cable Productions, season one of Defiance delivered an average of 1.5 million viewers 18-49 and 3.2 million total viewers, ranking as the second-highest Syfy scripted original to date among total viewers based on Live +7 data (behind Warehouse 13 in September 2009). The season one finale on July 8 earned a solid 1.6 million viewers 18-49 and 3.4 million total viewers. .
Grant Bowler returns as Nolan, along with Julie Benz as Amanda Rosewater, Stephanie Leonidas as Irisa Nolan, Tony Curran as Datak Tarr, Jaime Murray as Stahma Tarr, Graham Greene as Rafe McCawley and Jesse Rath as Alak Tarr. The cast also features Dewshane Williams as Tommy, Trenna Keating as Doc Yewll, Justin Rain as Quentin McCawley and Nicole Munoz as Christie McCawley.
As the story of Defiance resumes, the lives of the townspeople are in drastic turmoil. The Earth Republic has assumed control of the town, with far-reaching consequences including a new mayor. Nolan traverses the badlands to find a lost Irisa, Amanda has an unexpected new role in the town as she searches for Kenya and the Tarr family desperately tries to keep control of their criminal empire in the midst of dramatic changes.
James Murray joins the cast in the integral role of Pottinger, the new mayor of Defiance. Appointed by the Earth Republic, Pottinger is shrewd, polished and charming; he quickly wins the trust of most people he meets. But his civilized veneer hides a ruthless pragmatist who traffics in information and secrets, and mercilessly punishes those who defy him. Pottinger sees people as tools to be exploited or prizes to be won; his latest object of desire is ex-mayor Amanda (Benz). Born in Manchester, England, Murray found initial fame in ITV’s soap opera Coronation Street as Sandy Hunter. He has starred in numerous British film and television pieces including the popular BBC series New Tricks. He also appeared on the NBC series Beautiful People and CBS’s Chaos.
Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica) resumes his role as executive producer and showrunner. Smallville’s Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin return as executive producers for season two and Michael Taylor serves as consulting producer. Michael Nankin (co-executive producer) is set to direct the season two opener.
A first-rate production team returns, including visual effects supervisor Gary Hutzel (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica), whose work has earned Defiance a 2013 Emmy nomination, alien language and culture consultant David J. Peterson (Game of Thrones) and music supervisor Bear McCreary (The Walking Dead, Battlestar Galactica).
Season two of Defiance is set to premiere on Syfy in June 2014. The series is an unprecedented partnership between Syfy and Trion Worlds and the first-ever convergence of television and online gaming, featuring an interconnected world and storylines that co-exist on both platforms.
If you’d like to get a view of the set, check out our article, “A Day on the Set of Defiance”.
The new Doctor is…Peter Capaldi
by Doc on Aug.04, 2013, under Television
BREAKING: The Twelfth Doctor for Doctor Who will be a bit older – actor Peter Capaldi was just announced on the live BBC One/BBC America program.
Torchwood fans will recognize him as John Frobisher, the Home Office Secretary who dealt with the return of the 456 in Torchwood: Children of Earth.
In an interesting and perhaps prophetic note, Peter Capaldi’s character in World War Z is credited as “W.H.O. Doctor”.
Peter has appeared previously on Doctor Who. He played Caecilius in the episode “Fires of Pompeii”, which also featured a future Doctor Who regular…Karan Gillan.
Peter’s biggest role up to now was probably the role of Malcolm Tucker in In The Loop, the UK Prime Minister’s chief spin doctor.
Doctor Who Twelfth Doctor announcement Sunday live on BBC One (7PM BST) and BBC America (2PM EDT)
by Doc on Aug.01, 2013, under Television
BREAKING: BBC America announced that they will reveal who will play the Twelfth Doctor on a live TV special, airing simultaneously on BBC One in the UK and BBC America in the US.
DOCTOR WHO LIVE: THE NEXT DOCTOR SPECIAL TO AIR LIVE THIS SUNDAY ON BBC AMERICA
What: The next Doctor of BBC AMERICA’s hit series Doctor Who will be announced during a live special this Sunday afternoon.
When: Sunday, August 4, 2 pm ET LIVE on BBC AMERICA and BBC One in the U.K.
Who: Widely regarded as one of the most hotly contested roles in British television, the special’s host Zoe Ball will unveil the Twelfth Doctor in their first-ever interview in front of a live studio audience. The half-hour show will include live special guests, Doctors old and new, as well as companions and celebrity fans. Current Doctor Matt Smith and lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat will both give interviews in the special.
Steven Moffat says: “The decision is made and the time has come to reveal who’s taking over the TARDIS. For the last of the Time Lords, the clock is striking twelve.”
Matt Smith will make his penultimate appearance in the 50th Anniversary special on Saturday, November 23, and his Eleventh Doctor will regenerate in the Christmas Special. Doctor Who is produced by BBC Cymru Wales.
Continuum preview: “Seconds”
by Doc on Aug.01, 2013, under Television
In tomorrow night’s Continuum, Julian is released. Kiera can stop his rise to power, but the only way to do it is with a bullet.
Tune in Friday at 10/9c for “Seconds” on Syfy!
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Doctor Who announcement coming?
by Doc on Aug.01, 2013, under Television
Update: Sort of a false alarm…but we did get the announcement about the announcement…
Previously:
According to the Radio Times, any moment now we might be hearing a special announcement from the BBC about Doctor Who – and everyone is expecting to find out who the next Doctor will be.
Midnight (UK) seems a strange time to make that announcement, but if true we should find out in the next hour.
Who could be the next Doctor? Apparently the British betting parlors, where you can pretty much bet on anything, apparently believe the odds-on favorite at the moment is actor Peter Capaldi, who currently appears in World War Z but fans of the franchise would recognize him from Torchwood: Children of Earth as Home Office Secretary John Frobisher. He’s an older chap, currently 55, so it would be a switch since the return of Doctor Who…right now I’m not picturing him with the personality to pull it off, but I’ve said that about every new Doctor since Peter Davison…
Third season of Continuum will air on Syfy in 2014
by Doc on Aug.01, 2013, under Television
Syfy has announced that it will air the third season of the popular time traveling police series Continuum. The #1 original cable drama in its Friday 10PM time period, Continuum will return to the network in 2014 with 13 all-new episodes.
Currently airing season two, which concludes on Friday, August 30, Continuum ranks as the #1 original cable drama in its time slot among Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and total viewers. Based on Live +7 data, the series is currently averaging 728K Adults 18-49, 836K Adults 25-54 and 1.8 million total viewers, up 21 percent, 18 percent, and 21 percent, respectively, from season one.
Continuum stars Rachel Nichols as Kiera Cameron, a cop from the future who finds herself trapped in the present day, swept along when a group of fanatical terrorists escaped their planned execution in 2077 by vaulting back in time.
Continuum co-stars Victor Webster (Castle, Melrose Place) as detective Carlos Fonnegra and Erik Knudsen (Jericho, Scream 4), who plays teen tech genius Alec Sadler.
Executive producers of Continuum are series creator Simon Barry (The Art of War), Pat Williams (Smallville), and Tom Rowe (Tin Man). Continuum is a Showcase original series and is produced by Reunion Pictures in association with Shaw Media.
Helix starts production in Montreal
by Doc on Jul.31, 2013, under Television
Syfy’s newest original scripted series Helix from Sony Pictures Television began production this past weekend in Montreal, Canada. The 13-episode drama is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Steven Maeda (Lost, The X-Files) who is also showrunner, and Lynda Obst (Sleepless in Seattle, Contact). Cameron Porsandeh, who wrote the pilot, will serve as a Co-Executive Producer.
Helix is an intense thriller about a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak, only to find themselves pulled into a terrifying life-and-death struggle that may hold the key to mankind’s salvation or total annihilation. However, the lethal threat is just the tip of the iceberg, and as the virus evolves, the chilling truth begins to unravel.
Billy Campbell (The Killing, Killing Lincoln) stars as Dr. Alan Farragut, leader of the Centers for Disease Control outbreak field team called upon to investigate and control a potential “hot zone” at a remote Arctic research facility. Hiroyuki Sanada (The Wolverine, 47 Ronin) also stars as Dr. Hiroshi Hataki, director of the outpost and its mysterious viral research program.
Helix also stars Kyra Zagorsky (Soldiers of the Apocalypse) as Dr. Julia Walker, Mark Ghanimé (Emily Owens, M.D.) as Major Sergio Balleseros, Jordan Hayes (House at the End of the Street) as Dr. Sarah Jordan, Meegwun Fairbrother as Daniel Aerov, Catherine Lemieux (White House Down) as Dr. Doreen Boyle and Neil Napier (Riddick) as Dr. Peter Farragut.
Prolific director and producer Jeffrey Reiner is directing the premiere episode of Helix. Reiner directed multiple episodes of notable television series such as the critically acclaimed and award-winning Friday Night Lights, Awake and The Event. Reiner previously worked with Syfy directing the 90-minute pilot of the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica.
Helix is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Kaji Productions and Lynda Obst Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television.