The Fox/BBC American version of “Torchwood” is a no-go, but fans of the British “Doctor Who” spin-off can rejoice with the news that BBC Worldwide Productions is teaming up with Starz for the next installment of BBC’s “Torchwood”. The cable network has acquired the US TV rights for the show and is expected to air a mini-series format of ten episodes in the summer of 2011. This series will also air on BBC One.
This next installment of the “Torchwood” series will also star John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness and Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper and introduce new characters into the series for an international scope. This installment of the show will move the show from the UK stateside. Jane Tranter, Executive Vice President of BBC Worldwide Productions explains the intentions behind this installment:
“‘Torchwood‘ has attracted remarkable attention and loyalty in both the UK and U.S., and in this new partnership with Starz, the next chapter will not only reward our current fans, but also introduce new viewers to the most impressive installment yet.”
Tranter continues:
“This gives ‘Torchwood‘ the chance to feel like a real global drama. The story of ‘Torchwood’ will impact worldwide humanity and not just a small area of the U.K. This will scale it up.”
Show creator Russell T. Davies clarifies the creative position behind the American “Torchwood” installment:
“It’s very much the next step. It’s not a new version, it’s not a reboot. We’re simply moving countries. The show was previously a format show — monster of the week. The breakthrough was “Children of Earth” and that it became one long story. It’s not going to be ‘Lost‘ and take 20 years to find out what’s going on. It’s going to have a most remarkable conclusion after 10 episodes.”
[Above: “Children of Earth” promo pic. John Barrowman, Eve Myles, and Gareth David-Lloyd]
Starz president and CEO, Chris Albrecht, could not pass up the opportunity to snag “Torchwood”:
“It was too good an opportunity to pass up. I thought ‘Children of Earth‘ evolved the franchise to a place where it could continue to evolve on pay TV with an American partner that could bring more production resources. I’m interested in doing sci-fi, and what I like a lot about ‘Torchwood‘ is it’s a classic sci-fi entry. It’s all about the story, not about big effects.”
“Torchwood” is a spin-off of ‘Doctor Who” helmed by Russell T. Davies as showrunner along with Julie Gardner as executive producer. Davies and Gardner will also lead this American installment of the show.
Torchwood is an entity outside of the government that deals with extraterrestrial creatures, artifacts, and events. Captain Jack Harkness, a man of mysterious origin, leads a team of people with particular skill sets to handle this task. Of his original team, Gwen Cooper is the only one to survive after the acclaimed mini-series “Children of Earth” that premiered last summer.
[The Shakedown]
On the one hand, I am totally “squee”-ing over another series of “Torchwood” in the works because I felt that “Torchwood: Children of Earth” was one of the most brilliant moments of television last summer, but on the other hand I am screaming “noooooooooooooooooooooooooo”-newly-crowned-Darth-Vader-style for not having a subscription to Starz.
