Anna Hopkins (Nikita) and William Atherton (Life) have joined the cast of Syfy’s flagship drama series Defiance for its upcoming second season, which is currently in production in Toronto. They join James Murray who was also recently added to the cast of the series for its second season.
Cinemax has announced that they have picked up the U.S. broadcast rights to Strike Back: Origins – Sky1’s initial 6 episode series of Strike Back, known simply as Chris Ryan’s Strike Back or season 1 in its native UK, which would be used as the foundation for the series proper when Cinemax boarded the series as a co-producer in 2011. I hear that the network has had the rights to the initial six episode series since inking the co-production agreement, but held back on airing it given how different their “new version” of the series was to the original. Strike Back: Origins is set to premiere on Cinemax on Friday October 25th at 10/9c, a week after the show’s current season wraps its run.
Una Stubbs (Sherlock), Sacha Dhawan (Being Human), John Castle (I, Claudius), Louise Jameson (Doctor Who), David Ryall (The Village), Eleanor Bron (Absolutely Fabulous), Nick Burns (Nathan Barley) and Roy Barraclough (Coronation Street) have all been cast in BBC Two’s upcoming 30 minute drama The Tractate Middoth, an adaptation of the M.R. James story of the same name which is being written and directed by Mark Gattiss and will be part of BBC Two’s Christmas line-up.
Universal Channel has closed a deal with Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution to acquire the exclusive first run UK broadcast rights to Fox’s upcoming drama series Sleepy Hollow, which is set to premiere state-side on September 16th.
HBO has released a trailer for the upcoming fourth and final season of their comedy series Eastbound & Down, which is set to premiere on Sunday September 29th at 10/9c
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WGN America is adding another scripted entry to their line-up for 2014. The network has given a 13 episode straight-to-series order to Manhattan, a drama series about the Manhattan Project which hails from Skydance Television, Tribune Studios and Lionsgate Television. Production on the series is slated to commence in New Mexico this Winter, with WGN America eyeing a Summer 2014 premiere.
Graham McTavish (24) and Gary Lewis (Gangs of New York) have joined the cast of Starz’s upcoming 16 episode drama series Outlander. They join a cast which is being led by fellow Scot Sam Heughan, with Tobias Menzes taking on dual roles on the series.
The first season of BBC America’s Orphan Black will receive its UK premiere on BBC Three on Friday September 20th at 9pm with a double-bill, it has been announced.