It's Official: ITV is moving forward with a ninth season of Lewis. The commercial broadcaster confirmed the news today, after months of rumours that a ninth run had been commissioned by Director of Drama Steve November and Drama Controller Victoria Fea. Six episodes have been ordered for the show's ninth season, which will be retaining the hour-long format which came in with season seven. 
E4 has given the greenlight to Aliens, a six episode comedy drama which hails from In The Flesh scribe Fintan Ryan and Misfits producers Clerkenwell Films. 
E4 is moving forward with their hour-long comedy drama project from Doctor Who scribe Jamie Mathieson. The Channel 4 owned youth-skewing channel has handed out a four episode series order to Tripped, after initially piloting the project in early 2014 under the title Alt. 
The newest sci-fi series from Stargate writers and executive producers Paul Mullie and Joseph Mallozzi is heading to Syfy UK. The NBCU owned and operated channel has picked up the exclusive first run UK broadcast rights to "space-opera" Dark Matter, starring Melissa O’Neil , Marc Bendavid and Anthony Lemke , from international distributor Endemol Shine International. The series will premiere on Syfy UK this June. 
Anna Maxwell Martin (The Bletchley Circle) and David Threlfall (Code of a Killer) has been set as the co-leads in ITV Encore's three-part original drama Midwinter Of The Spirit, which is based on the series of Merrily Watkins novels by Phil Rickman. 
Comedy Central UK has picked up the exclusive first run UK broadcast rights to CBS' short-lived comedy series Bad Teacher after striking a deal with international distributor Sony Pictures Television, TVWise has learned.