Sci-Fi Storm

Less than 48 hours after airing the (from what I understand) heart-wrenching finale of Primeval: New World in Canada, SPACE has decided not to renew the series, according to postings from the official Twitter/Facebook accounts. However, word is that Entertainment One are shopping around for other investors – the show has been sold to 17 markets, although it has not yet aired in at least some of them (Syfy has still not announced a premiere date), so there is some hope still, but I have a feeling it is a long shot.

But if you want to help out, take to twitter and use the #SavePrimevalNW hashtag and let them know you want more!

The official web site for the upcoming Primeval: New World is now live! The spinoff of the British series is produced in Canada and will debut on SPACE next Monday, October 29th – but U.S. fans will have to wait until sometime in 2013 for the show to debut on Syfy (hoping for either the January or April slots). Hopefully the site won’t present too many spoilers until then!

I just got confirmation that Syfy has acquired Primeval: New World, the Canadian spin-off of Primeval starring Eureka‘s Niall Matter and led by executive producers Martin Wood (Sanctuary, the Stargate TV franchise) and Gillian Horvath (Sanctuary, Flash Gordon).

Air date is to be determined, but will be after the new year.

Updated: more complete information – see the press release below.
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Check out the first trailer for the upcoming Space-produced Primeval spinoff, Primeval: New World! Primeval fans will recognize Andrew Lee Potts reprising his role of Connor Temple (at least to start the series), while Eureka fans will see star Niall Matter (who played Zane Donovan) and a quick shot of Colin Ferguson (who played Sheriff Jack Carter) who has a guest spot in the two-part series finale. Still no word on a U.S. outlet yet…
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Gateworld reports several new castings for roles in the Canadian Primeval spinoff, Primeval: New World, which will air on SPACE in Canada but has no reported U.S. outlet yet. Chief among them is Eureka‘s Colin Ferguson (Sheriff Jack Carter), who will re-unite with his Eureka co-star Niall Matter in and unspecified role, along with a number of Stargate franchise alums.

Lexa Doig, who appeared as Dr. Carolyn Lam in several episodes of Stargate SG-1 but is perhaps best remembered as Andromeda/Rommie in Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda (and in real life is married to Stargate SG-1‘s Michael Shanks), will reportedly appear as a doctor in the two-part finale. She has most recently been playing Sonya Valentine in the Canadian SF series Continuum.

Stargate Universe‘s Louis Ferriera (Colonel Everett Young) will appear in the last three episodes as Colonel Henderson Hall, who will come into conflict with Evan Cross (Matter).

And fellow SGU alum Patrick Gilmore (Dale Volker) will also appear as a local entrepreneur named Blake in Episode 4.

Syfy officially announced today that it will not renew Sanctuary for a fifth season, according to Mark Stern, Syfy President of Original Content.

“We’re honored to have been part of this incredible series. In addition to garnering unmatched devotion by fans worldwide,” Stern said in a release, “Sanctuary was a bona fide trailblazer, setting new standards with its highly innovative production techniques–including pioneering green screen and RED camera technology–and Emmy-nominated visual effects. It’s been an amazing ride and we look forward to our next project with Amanda Tapping, Martin Wood and Damian Kindler.”

I’m still sure that stars Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne will find themselves working on something else together, and Space Milkshake is pending release. And I have a feeling that whatever it is will be produced by Damian Kindler and Martin Wood, who have been working with Tapping since Stargate SG-1. Tapping and Wood already working with Sanctuary supervising producer Gillian Horvath on new series Primeval: New World, with Amanda taking a spin as director.

SciFiAndTvTalk has an excellent article on Andrew-Lee Potts and his crossover role between the original Primeval and the upcoming Primeval: New World.

We’ve got some more cast and production info for the upcoming Canadian spin-off Primeval: New World, following last week’s news that Eureka‘s Niall Matter will star in the series. And it includes some Sanctuary/Stargate SG-1 relationships as well!

Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) will star as a predator expert, opposite Matter’s inventor and hero character. Miranda Frigon (Heartland), Geoff Gustafson (Once Upon a Time) and Danny Rahim (Young James Herriot) will co-star.

And for fans of the original Primeval, star Andrew-Lee Potts will guest star in at least one episode.

On the directing side, Sanctuary‘s Amanda Tapping will join Stargate franchise producer/directors Andy Mikita and Martin Wood and Eureka director Mike Rohl.

Wood and Gillian Horvath, who both produce Sanctuary, will executive produce.

A Canadian spin-off of the ITV series Primeval was announced some time ago called Primeval: New World, but there hasn’t been much about it lately, until now. We’re hearing that SPACE in Canada (which is producing, and aired the original) will air the show later this year, along with Watch in the U.K. No U.S. outlet has been named yet (although I think it will be a toss-up between BBC America, which aired the original, and Syfy). Crossovers with the original cast are possible, but no one has said if they will happen, only that it is set in the same “universe”, so it’s not a reboot/remake like was done with Being Human.

And now we know at least one cast member. Niall Matter, who plays Zane on Eureka and was also recently on 90210, announced on Twitter today that he has signed on to play one of the leads. (Reports that the show was already “in the can” were wrong). Depending on the time it takes to deal with the visual effects, airing this Fall could be a challenge.

The 13-episode series is described as “darker and scarier” than the original, with a “younger and sexier” cast.

As for the original, no 6th series has been announced, despite being left with a bit of a teaser at the end…

Primeval: Volume 3 was released on both [sfs=1192]Blu-ray[/sfs] and [sfs=1191]DVD[/sfs] ([sfs=1189]Volume 1[/sfs] and [sfs=1190]Volume 2[/sfs] are only on DVD) from BBC Video in the U.S. a couple of weeks ago, and consists of what in the U.K. were considered Series 4 and Series 5 of the program, a total of 13 episodes. We reviewed Volume two back in 2009.

With Connor (Andrew Lee Potts, Alice), Abby (Hannah Spearritt, Seed of Chucky) and Danny (Jason Flemyng, X-Men: First Class, Snatch) trapped in the past at the end of Volume Two, the ARC has had to find new recruits to take their place. Matt (Ciarán McMenamin, Jericho, Demons), the new field leader, is an ex-soldier with a secret which he keeps hidden from his team. Unconventional and highly efficient Jess (Ruth Kearney, Gracie!) now runs operations from the ARC Control Center. Charismatic businessman and scientist Philip Burton (Alexander Siddig, Clash of the Titans, 24, Syriana, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) has become part owner of the ARC after the government lost faith in Home Office official James Lester’s (Ben Miller) ability to run such a dangerous and expensive operation on his own. Once Philip gained half ownership and privatized the ARC, the fine line between saving the country and creating scientific history became blurred. Will greed outweigh the true danger of the anomalies?
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