TNT is adding another original scripted series to its line up. The network has pulled the trigger on a series order for drama project The Last Ship, which hails from Michael Bay and Platinum Dunes. 10 episodes have been ordered for the show’s first season, which is slated to premiere in Summer 2014.
With the upfronts only a week away, we are now in the thick of things. Over the next five days or so, as the network do final screenings of their pilots, they will reach decisions on how many and which of their bubble shows to keep. Those decisions are expected to come down at the rear end of this week, maybe on Thursday definitely Friday. Will your favourite show make the cut? Or is it a goner? Listed below, by network, you’ll find the latest industry buzz on which shows will be back next year and which shows we will be saying goodbye to. This is the final edition of the Broadcast TV Buzz for 2013 and as such I have pressed my sources over the past three days to get as clear a read as possible on the status of these bubble shows. As this is the final edition, we’ve done away with the various descriptors such as “locks” and “looking good” instead I’ll list below, based on the intel I’m receiving from my sources, whether said shows will be renewed or cancelled. If you can’t find the show you’re looking for below, then chances are that it has already been renewed or cancelled. To check on that, you can use our handy scorecard.
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EXCLUSIVE: ITV’s upcoming three-part drama The Guilty has added a number of guest stars. Nicola Sian (Doctor Who), Rick Bacon (Da Vinci’s Demons), Glen Wallace (Hollyoaks), Natascha Slasten, Mark Rawlings (Big Bad World), Madlen Meyer and Cleo Sylvestre (Silent Witness) have all landed roles of the drama serial. Penned by Debbie O’Malley, The Guilty is set in both 2008 and the present day and follows DC Maggie Brand who investigates the disappearance of a little boy named Callum Reid. In 2008, at a neighbourhood barbecue Claire Reid and Daniel Reid relax amongst their friends and neighbours as little Callum plays contentedly with the other children. The evening sours, however, when after an alcohol fuelled evening tempers flare and a violent fight erupts at the barbecue. In the hours that follow Callum disappears and nothing is ever the same again. Five years later, the body of Callum is found buried mere yards from his front door. Now a DCI, Brand leads the new investigation and will leave no stone unturned, and going as far as risking her own happy family life with husband Jeb (Jamie Sives) to find out what happened to Callum. The three-part drama stars Tamsin Greig (Episodes), Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge), Darren Boyd (Spy) and Jamie Sives (Secret State). Hartswood Films is producing the serial, with Elaine Cameron serving as producer and Beryl Vertue serving as the executive producer. Ed Bazalgette is directing.
The third season of FX’s comedy series Wilfred will premiere on Thursday June 20th at 10/9c, it has been announced. For the first two weeks of its run the series will air back-to-back episodes, before taking a one week hiatus and then continuing to air one episode a week in the Thursday 10pm time-slot from July 11th.
The Discovery Channel has announced a new season of documentary specials titled The White House Season, which will explore secrets about the most powerful position in the world: the Presidency of the United States of America. This new season will begin airing on the Discovery Channel from Saturday June 22nd.
BBC Two’s The Worricker Trilogy – which encompasses the 2011 TV movie Page Eight and the two recently commissioned follow ups Turks & Caicos and Salting The Battlefield – is adding to its cast. Dylan Baker (The Good Wife), Winona Ryder (Black Swan), Zach Grenier (The Good Wife), Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can), Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter), James Naughton (The Devil Wears Prada) and Malcolm Sinclair (Parade’s End) have all been cast in these follow ups to Page Eight. While Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes, Ewen Bremner, Saskia Reeves, Judy Davis and Kate Burdette will all reprise their roles from the 2011 TV movie.
BBC Two’s new five episode drama series The Fall, arguably one of the most eagerly anticipated new series of 2013, kicks off on RTE One on Sunday May 12th at 9:30pm, BBC Two on Monday May 13th at 9pm and will air on Netflix in the United States from May 28th. The series hails from Prime Suspect scribe Allan Cubitt and production company Artists Studio and features a star studded cast which includes Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Jamie Dornan (Once Upon A Time), John Lynch (The Jury) and Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife).
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BBC America has renewed its original science-fiction series Orphan Black for a second season of 10 episodes, slated to air in 2014.