Syfy Picks Up “Haven”

Syfy has ordered 13 episodes of the supernatural drama series Haven, based on the novella The Colorado Kid, from renowned author Stephen King. Haven from E1 Entertainment will be the first property to be produced for Syfy Pay channels around the globe (excluding Canada and Scandinavia). The announcement was made today by Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Content for Syfy and Co-Head, Original Content for Universal Cable productions, and E1 Entertainment’s John Morayniss, CEO of E1’s Television Group. Production is expected to begin in early 2010, for an anticipated air in 2010. International distribution is handled by E1 Entertainment.

“Haven is the quintessential Stephen King town, full of complex, yet identifiable, characters and compelling supernatural situations. Sam and Jim wrote a great pilot, and we can’t wait to see Scott, Lloyd, and Shawn join them in bringing this town to life as a series. We also couldn’t be more excited to partner with our international Syfy channels and be in business with E1 who will definitely deliver the high-quality production value we expect,” Stern said in making the announcement.

“E1 has successfully orchestrated the first Syfy global partnership with Syfy in the U.S. and their international pay channels and we couldn’t be more pleased,” added John Morayniss. “What a combination: the Syfy brand, the pedigree of Stephen King and the global presence and reach of E1. With those ingredients, I predict a worldwide ratings hit for Haven. Syfy audiences and television viewers around the world will be enthralled with this exciting new series.”

Syfy President Dave Howe commented, “”This is the first series to capitalize on the global power of the Syfy brand. This and more series like this in the future will be a potential game changer for Syfy’s business, enabling us to commission and produce more and more high production value original content that can live on Syfy’s growing network of channels around the globe.”

Roma Khanna, President Universal Networks International added, “Haven, based on the novella The Colorado Kid by Stephen King, is the first major content partnership driven by our global Syfy business and is the first step in our plan to invest in more top quality content for Syfy Universal and our newly revitalized global channel portfolio. This world class project illustrates our commitment to deliver more high profile, first-run content which provides compelling entertainment for our viewers around the world.”

Deep in the heart of Maine, Haven is a town where people with supernatural abilities have migrated for generations because it mutes their powers, allowing them to lead normal lives. At least, until recently. When hot-shot FBI agent Audrey Parker is called to Haven to solve the murder of a local ex-con, she catches the killer but uncovers a much deeper mystery about this town. Each week, as the town-peoples’ dormant powers begin to express themselves, Audrey will try to keep these supernatural forces at bay while unraveling the many mysteries of Haven – including one surrounding her own surprising past in this extraordinary place.

The impressive creative team behind Haven includes Scott Shepherd (Tru Calling, The Dead Zone) serving as showrunner and is joined by his partners Executive Producers Lloyd Segan and Shawn Piller (The Dead Zone, Wildfire, Greek) and E1 Entertainment’s John Morayniss (Hung, The Bridge) and Noreen Halpern (Hung, Copper). The pilot is written by Sam Ernst (Shrek the Third, The Dead Zone) and Jim Dunn (Shrek the Third, The Dead Zone) who will also serve as executive producers on the series. Adam Fratto will serve as co-executive producer.

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“V”: Laura Vandervoort Audio Interview, Part 1

Although “V” is off the air until March, SciFi TV Zone will be providing continuing coverage of the show, beginning with this exclusive audio interview with actress Laura Vandervoort (Lisa). Conducted just before the show began its production hiatus and before the audience — and presumably Laura herself — knew that Lisa was actually Anna’s daughter, she discusses the character and her overall feelings about the role and the show itself. Interview conducted by Edward Gross.

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The Weekly Round-Up for Nov. 23 to 27

Here are the sci-fi based entertainment news items for this week (November 23 to 27):

NEWS

The Producers Guild of America will honor Joss Whedon with the 2010 Vanguard Award on Sunday, January 24.

ABC has temporarily shut down production on the rookie drama FlashForward, but for only six days.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Joshua Jackson (Fringe) will star in a new film adaptation of the cult 70’s British sci-fi TV series UFO. Jackson will star as Paul Foster, a test pilot who joins S.H.A.D.O. (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization), a covert organization built under a Hollywood studio that defends Earth against a race of aliens who have been abducting humans and using the body parts. Ryan Gaudet and Joseph Kanarek are writing while Matthew Gratzner makes his directorial debut. Filming kicks off this Spring in the UK.

A new film adaptation of Robert Ervin Howard’s Kull is in the works at Paradox Entertainment.

Kat Dennings is joining the cast of Kenneth Branaugh’s Thor, which will be released on May 20, 2011.

Hugh Jackman will star in the movie Real Steel, which is about a futuristic Rocky-esque story about a father and son who take their human-like 2000-pound robot to the Bot Boxing Championship.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon has taken in over 140 million in the US as well as over 132 million worldwide in its first week in theatres.

Jessica Alba will star in an adaptation of Insiders, a series of Belgian graphic novels first created in 2002, which centers on Najah Cruz, a Columbian who is as deadly as she is beautiful; she has the weapons expertise and combat skills of a James Bond. At the secret request of the White House she infiltrates a worldwide mafia-like organization composed of businessmen and politicians and becomes the bodyguard of the organization’s leader.

CASTING SCOOP

James Remar will appear in an upcoming episode of The Vampire Diaries as Giuseppe Salvatore, papa to bloodsucking sons Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder).

Brian Austin Green will reprise his role as the kryptonite-powered villain in Smallville’s 18th episode, scheduled to air in the spring.

James Remar will play a big role in Dexter’s bloody December 13 season finale.

Reminder: Summer Glau, Alexis Denisof and Ray Wise will appear on the December 4 episode(s) of Dollhouse. Alan Tudyk will reappear on the December 11 installments of the series as well as Keith Carradine.

RUMOR PATROL

Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) is rumored to be talking with Marvel about playing the character of Hawkeye in Kenneth Branaugh’s Thor.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The following movie will air this weekend :

The Syfy channel presents the movie Beyond Sherwood Forest on Saturday, November 28 at 9 PM, which has Robin Hood (Robin Dunne from Sanctuary) trying to find a cure for a woman with a terrible curse that turns her into a murderous beast during the daytime. Erica Durance (Smallville) stars as Maid Marion.

NEW EPISODES OF EXISTING SHOWS

Here is a list of new episodes for the returning and new fall shows:

Saturday, November 28:

NOTE: Check your local listings for channel, date and time for next new episode of The Legend of the Seeker.

Sunday, November 29:
Dexter on Showtime at 9 p.m.

NOTE: Check your local listings for channel, date and time for next new episode of The Legend of the Seeker.

Monday, November 30:
Heroes on NBC at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, December 1:

NOTE: President Obama is expected to address the nation so please be prepared for a change in tonight’s scheduling by checking your local listings for updates.

Wednesday, December 2:
Eastwick on ABC at 10:01 p.m.

Thursday, December 3:
Fringe on FOX at 9 p.m.

Friday, December 4:
Ghost Whisperer on CBS at 8 p.m.
Medium on CBS at 9 p.m.
Dollhouse will air two back-to-back episodes on FOX at 8 and 9 p.m.
Stargate Universe on Syfy at 9 p.m.
Sanctuary on Syfy at 10 p.m.

NOTE: Please check your local listings for the correct air dates and times for all of the above.

Have a great weekend!

Please note that I will feature a weekly round-up of general news items at our sister site located at http://nicegirlstv.com/. Please visit there as often as you can. Thanks!

Dark Shadows: Jonathan Frid Audio Interview, Part 1

Back in the 1980s, SciFi TV Zone Editor Edward Gross was researching a book on the 60s horror soap opera, Dark Shadows. At the time he had the opportunity to interview a number of people involved with the show, both in front of and behind the camera, but the highlight was the opportunity to meet and interview Jonathan Frid. The actor, who portrayed vampire Barnabas Collins on the show, had been a childhood hero and it was felt to be the opportunity of a lifetime.

What follows is the first part of that meeting between actor and fledgling journalist. Two things to bear in mind: the sound source is a little low, but considering it was recorded nearly 25 years ago on a cassette tape, it’s not bad. Second, this was one of Gross’ earliest interviews, so there is definitely nervousness on his part. Look for Part two of this interview on Monday, December 7th.

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Stephen King’s “Haven”: Exclusive Interview with Exec Producer Lloyd Segan

Currently in development is a TV series based on Stephen King’s novel The Colorado Kid, in which a newspaper intern named Stephanie McCann finds herself immersed in the mysteries of the town of Haven. The TV version, which has been retitled Haven, will elaborate on these mysteries. Serving as executive producer of Haven is Lloyd Segan, who played the same role on the TV version of King’s The Dead Zone. In this exclusive interview, Segan reveals some details about the show.

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Executive Producer Scott Rosenbaum on the March Return of “V”

Tonight’s episode of “V” is scheduled to be the last one to air on ABC until the show returns in March, following the airing of the Winter Olympics. The question amongst fans of the show, however, is whether or not this is a programming mistake. As has become extremely evident over the past couple of seasons, there is very little viewer loyalty with audiences quickly growing used to not seeing a show when it’s off the air. Will this take away something from the momentum “V” has been building?
Scott Rosenbaum, the show’s new executive producer, whose real influence will be felt beginning with the its return in March, doesn’t think so. “This scheduling was done on purpose to make the show even better,” he offers. “I think the reason they [ABC] did this – and it makes a lot of sense – is that they view this as a big event, and it’s also an expensive show to do. By breaking it up into these different sections, I think it allows more time for writing and more time for production. The idea is to make the show even bigger and essentially better. Think of a television season as a movie. Look at the first season of ‘V’ as 12 episodes [after the pilot]. The first four are the beginning, Act 1; the second four will be Act 2 and the final four will be Act 3. Approaching it that way, I think, will make the show even better. Is it going to be frustrating for people because they want to see new episodes? Possibly. But I think the plan is, by doing it this way, is that more people will be excited by the next group, and they’ll know that when they get to that next group of episodes, they’re going to get something that’s better than anything they’re going to get anywhere else, because we were able to put more time and effort into every aspect of production.”

The fear, of course, is that the network will look at the fact that the ratings have dipped from week to week and decide not to proceed with additional episodes. Rosenbaum doesn’t see this as a possibility. “I think they’ll stick to the plan, because everyone here agrees it’s a good one,” he says. “It’s like event programming. Truthfully, I’m thrilled that this is the way they’re doing it. It might be a little annoying, but this will work. I also think that season two or three will be more like a regular show with 22 episodes. In this first season, this is a property that people know from before. It was a huge event back in the days when it first appeared, and I think the spirit here was, ‘Let’s reintroduce it in a way that’s different from what everyone else is doing.’

“I think ‘V’ has great potential,” closes Rosenbaum. “I think it can be not just an entertaining show, but I think it can be an important show, if done right. It can be a show that has a sort of lasting effect, and can be bigger than just a TV show. It allows you to dive into things that most TV shows don’t allow you to do. Just in terms of the state of the world, the state of humanity, who we are as people, what is good and bad about us, how we can fix things in our nature – everything about humans beings’ place in the world and in the universe. It can be an intellectual exercise as well, and not just a fun action show. It gives you all the tools to play with, which is really nice.”

“V” Promo: “It’s Only the Beginning”

Tuesday night is the final episode of “V” until the show returns in March. What follows is an extended trailer for the last episode of the first arc, “It’s Only the Beginning.”

“Forever Knight”: Exclusive Audio Interview with Geraint Wyn Davies

This year, Chiller counts down to Thanksgiving with back-to-back evening marathons of the classic vampire series Forever Knight, featuring star Geraint Wyn Davies’ favorite episodes. Davies will host the marathon in all-new, ever-before-seen interstitials, offering behind-the-scenes scoop on the series. It all begins Tuesday, November 24 at 8PM and continues the following night on the Chiller network.
SciFi TV Zone caught up with Davies, who reflected on the series, his character of vampire cop Nick Knight and what he’s up to now.

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Weekly Round-Up for Nov. 16 to 20

Here are the sci-fi based entertainment news items for this week (November 16 to 20):

NEWS

Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives) has been promoted to executive producer/showrunner of Syfy’s Caprica, where he joins fellow executive producers Jane Espenson, Ron Moore, and David Eick. Murphy was originally hired as a co-executive producer on the Battlestar Galactica prequel series and will now serve as the day-to-day showrunner on the series. Jane Espenson was showrunner, but she decided to step down to concentrate on writing Caprica inside of the day-to-day operations.

The CW announced they will be reairing every episode (thus far 10 in total) of The Vampire Diaries over 5 nights, from December 14 to 18.

The two-hour “Justice Society”-themed Smallville movie will actually be aired on February 5 rather than in January.  The Geoff Johns written episodes will be directed by Glen Winter and Tom Welling.

Syfy has scheduled the debut of the direct-to-DVD movie Battlestar Galactica: The Plan for Sunday, January 10 at 9 PM. In addition, the new series Caprica will regularly air on Friday night at 9 PM followed by repeats of Warehouse 13 at 10 PM. Lastly, Sanctuary will wrap its second season with a two-hour finale on January 15 at 9 PM.

Daniel Radcliffe will lend his voice to The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror XXI, where he will play Edmund, a child vampire that Lisa falls in love with in a parody of the Twilight franchise.

The BBC has confirmed the title of the Doctor Who Christmas special is The End of Time, Part One. It’s the first time since the relaunch of the series that a two-parter would be given the same episode title. It’s expected that the second half of David Tennant’s swan song on the series will air in the UK on New Year’s Eve. 

NOTE:  Doctor Who: The End of Time, Part One will air on BBC America on December 26 at 9 PM.

Chuck is back on NBC, starting on January 10 with two back-to-back episodes before moving to its regular Monday tineslot at 8 PM the next day. There will be 19 episodes in its third season and all of the cast except Julia Ling (who plays Anna Wu) will be returning.

The two-hour season premiere of the final season of Lost has be scheduled for February 2 on ABC.

NEW SEASON TALLY

The following is another run down of the general state of the TV shows for the fall season – not just the sci-fi(ish) based shows.

A survey was recently done at E! Entertainment Online and while it’s not scientific, it does give a little bit of an idea what endangered shows the readers of the site want to see survey this season:

29.2% Eastwick (ABC)
19.5% Three Rivers (CBS)
14.4% Trauma (NBC)
13.9% Melrose Place (CW)
12.3% Accidentally on Purpose (CBS)
7.3% The Forgotten (ABC)

Obviously, Eastwick has only received a 13-episode order from ABC with no further episodes being ordered. Rumor has it that Lifetime MAY be interested in the show; but no confirmation has come out from the network. As stated above, NBC has taken back the cancellation of Trauma – at least for now – by giving the show an order of 3 more episodes. The Forgotten also received an order from ABC for 5 more episodes. The futures of the other endangered series listed above are still in question.

BOX OFFICE NEWS

Josh Klausner is set to write an adaptation of Adena Halpern’s novel The Ten Best Days of My Life, which focuses on a woman (proposed to be Amy Adams) who dies and then goes to the top of the afterlife echelon known as Seventh Heaven. However, she is in danger of being sent to a lower level unless she can prove that she lived a worthwhile life by recounting her 10 best days.

Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformers) is set to produce films based on the Michael Scott six-part fantasy novel series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, which follows fifteen-year-old twins Sophie and Josh as they adventure across several continents with the immortal alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel. Kyle XY creator Eric Bress wrote the script. The fourth book in the series, The Necromancer, is due out next year.

Idris Elba (Obsessed) is set to play Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard who stands on the BiFrost Bridge ready to defend the city from intruders in Kenneth Branagh’s superhero epic Thor. He joins an extensive cast that includes Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgard, Stuart Townsend, and Ray Stevenson. The comic book adaptation will be released on May 20th 2011.

John Hlavin (The Shield) will write the script for a fourth Underworld that is not a prequel. No details are available nor has a director or cast been chosen.

MADE FOR TV MOVIE NEWS

Jeri Ryan (Leverage) and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace) have been cast in the Lifetime Movie Network’s horror tele-picture Secrets in the Walls, about a woman who discovers that her dream house in the suburbs is haunted.

Steven Spielberg and Stephen King will develop a limited series based on King’s just-released book Under the Dome; likely for cable. The book revolves around the drama that unfolds after an invisible force field suddenly descends on a small vacation town in Maine. As the locals fight for their survival, the town descends into warring factions led by enigmatic characters. Both men will executive-produce and a writer is being sought to adapt the book.

AS HEARD ON/MUSIC NEWS

The songs “Cherry Blossom” by Buttersprites, “Shelter From the Storm” by Bob Dylan and Soul Flower Union and “I Can’t Explain The Things I Do” by El Gato were featured in this past week’s episode of FlashForward.

The songs featured in this past week’s episode of The Vampire Diaries were “Chances” by Five For Fighting; “Coast of Carolina” by Telekinesis!, “Cut” by Plumb, “Off Track” by The Features and “This is Beautiful” by Tyrone Wells.

CASTING SCOOP

Ted Raimi (Spider-Man) will guest star in an upcoming episode of The Legend of the Seeker, reprising his role as Sebastian, the fast-talking, shady mapmaker and magic peddler who teams up with Zedd’s brother Thaddicus to sell a magical cure for Banelings — evil souls returned from the underworld.

Actor Carlo Marks will star as Steven Swift (aka Warrior Angel) in an upcoming episode of Smallville, who could very well be a love interest for Chloe (Allison Mack). Ironic enough he appeared as a “what if” fiancé of Chloe’s in the season 7 episode called Apocalypse.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The following movies will air this coming weekend:

The Syfy movie Lightning Strikes, about a monster that wrecks havoc in a small town after riding a lightning bolt to Earth, will air on Sunday, November 22 at 7 PM. And, the movie Fire From Below will also air on Syfy at 9 PM on Sunday, November 22. The movie is about the countryside exploding when miners hit a vein of pure base lithium. Both movies star Kevin Sorbo.

NEW EPISODES

Here is a list of new episodes for the coming week:

Saturday, November 21:

Check your local listings for channel, date and time for next new episode of The Legend of the Seeker.

Sunday, November 22:
Dexter on Showtime at 9 p.m.

NOTE: Check your local listings for channel, date and time for next new episode of The Legend of the Seeker.

Monday, November 23:
Heroes on NBC at 8 p.m.

Tuesday, November 24:
V on ABC at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, November 25
Eastwick on ABC at 10:01 p.m.

Thursday, November 26:
Happy Thanksgiving

NOTE: Please check your local listings for the correct air dates and times for all of the above.

Have a great weekend!

Please note that I will feature a weekly round-up of general news items at our sister site located at http://nicegirlstv.com/. Please visit there as often as you can. Thanks!

“V”: Elizabeth Mitchell on The Bonnie Hunt Show

“V” may be winding down its first story arc (concluding Tuesday night, scheduled to return in March), but publicity for the show continues. On November 19th, Elizabeth Mitchell (who plays FBI agent Erica Evans) appeared on The Bonnie Hunt Show.

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