BBC America Announces All New Supernatural Saturdays in 2011
Debi Moore
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Syfy isn’t the only network gearing up to attract horror/sci-fi viewers on Saturday nights as BBC America has demonstrated its commitment to the genre with the recent announcement of a refreshed primetime slate for “Supernatural Saturdays”. In this slot the channel will roll out three all new co-productions, “Primeval”, “Outcasts” and “Bedlam”. It will also be home for new seasons of previous co-productions “Doctor Who” and “Being Human”.
From the Press Release:
Perry Simon, General Manager, Channels says: “BBC AMERICA has been setting a bench-mark for quality supernatural and sci-fi shows like ‘Torchwood’ and ‘Doctor Who’, attracting millions of fans to the channel. Throughout 2011 our viewers will see the return of old friends like ‘Doctor Who’ and ‘Primeval;, which we helped save from extinction, as well as some great new additions to our schedule like ‘Outcasts’ and ‘Bedlam’. Our fans told us they wanted these shows, and we are delighted to give them what they want.”
Supernatural Saturdays starts off the New Year with a roar with the return of the beloved series “Primeval”. Returning to screens thanks to a unique international collaboration with BBC AMERICA as a co-producer, the fourth season opens the franchise to new audiences with ambitious new adventures. When rips in time called anomalies started opening across the UK, dangerous creatures from the past and future began appearing in the most unexpected places, endangering lives and putting the whole of humanity at risk. A crack team of specialists was appointed by the government to deal with these “creature incursions.” This job has proven deadly for multiple team members and threats continue to escalate. From the creators of “Walking With Dinosaurs” and “Survivors”, the new season of “Primeval” sees a new headquarters, the arrival of new faces and the surprise return of some notable guest stars from earlier seasons. “Primeval” premieres Saturday, January 1, 9:00pm ET/PT.
Hot on the heels of the “Primeval” finale, and from the makers of award-winning and international hit series “Life on Mars” and “MI-5”, comes the frontier drama “Outcasts” in early 2011. The series takes viewers into a new world as it explores survival, sex, politics and the drive for power in a new post-Earth era. Shot in South Africa and created by Ben Richards (“MI-5”), “Outcasts” stars Eric Mabius (“Ugly Betty”, “The L Word”), Liam Cunningham (Clash Of The Titans) and Hermione Norris (“MI-5”). With Earth no longer habitable, a group of courageous pioneers have traveled to another planet to begin again. They’ve built the town of Forthaven on Carpathia and have the unique opportunity of creating a new and better future on another planet. Led by President Tate (Cunningham) and his core team of Stella (Norris), Cass (Daniel Mays, The Bank Job) and Fleur (Amy Manson, “Being Human”), they’re determined to run a democracy, but human nature and some tough decisions from the past come back to haunt them. “Outcasts” premieres early 2011 on Saturdays, 9:00pm ET/PT.
Supernatural Saturdays in spring 2011 will see the return of two of BBC AMERICA’s top rated programs, “Doctor Who” and “Being Human”. BBC AMERICA co-production “Being Human” is back with an all new third season. Russell Tovey, Lenora Crichlow and Aidan Turner return as George, Annie and Mitchell, the three twenty-somethings trying to live as normally as possible despite being a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. This season will see the housemates relocate from their current home in Bristol to Wales – a move triggered by events in the dramatic climax of the second series – while encountering some new faces and battling their biggest threat yet.
Future Supernatural Saturdays in 2011 will debut the haunting all new six-part series “Bedlam”. The sexy, contemporary paranormal program stars singer and actor Will Young (“Pop Idol” winner, “Skins”), Charlotte Salt (“The Tudors”), Theo James (“A Passionate Woman”), Joanna Page (“Gavin & Stacey”) and Ashley Madekwe (“Secret Diary of a Call Girl”). Set in Bedlam Heights – an apartment building converted from a pre-Victorian lunatic asylum – the inhabitants experience the darker side of the building’s history when former asylum spirits come back to claim what they believe to be theirs and seek revenge on those who have wronged them. The terrifying hauntings that follow reveal that sometimes when you scratch away the surface, things aren’t always what they seem.
Based on what we’ve seen previously on BBC America, sign us up! “Bedlam” especially sounds like something Dread Central readers will want to keep an eye out for. As we learn more about it, and the rest of BBC America’s Supernatural Saturdays offerings, so will you. For more in the meantime visit the official BBC America website and follow BBC America on Twitter
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