'HOUDINI & DOYLE' EPIC TV SERIES TRAILER IS HERE! GEORGINA HAIG, NEAL BLEDSOE TO LEAD CW'S MARS SET SF SERIES! SYFY ORDERS 'AFTERMATH' POST APOCALYPTIC TV SERIES WITH LEVI MEADEN, TAYLOR HICKSON

CW'S MARS SET SHOW

CASTS NEAL BLEDSOE AND GEORGINA HAIG AS LEADS

We're going mostly sf today, starting with the news from CW's untitled MARS set series which is rounding up its cast! Georgina Haig has been set as the female lead while Neal Bledsoe will be the male lead in the series about an explorer team that arrives on Mars to join the first human colony on the planet, only to discover that their predecessors have vanished. Led by a woman whose husband is among the missing, the colonists are forced to change their mission from exploration and settlement to investigation and survival, while navigating the hostile planet and their own personal demons.

MARS EXPLORERS
 Georgina Haig (ONCE UPON A TIME) plays Gina Nolan, the mission’s botanist, a woman who is intense, motivated and sharp, a true explorer! Magnetic Neal Bledsoe (MYSTERIES OF LAURA) plays handsome, charming, brilliant and resolute Lewis, who’s charged with selecting members of the explorer team who will follow him to the Red Planet. The cast also includes Mouzam Makkar, Carl Beukes, Tongayi Chirisa and Peter Mark Kendall!

SYFY ORDERS 'AFTERMATH' 

POST APOCALYPTIC TV SERIES

Meanwhile, later this summer SyFy will air  Canadian 13 episode sf series AFTERMATH  following a couple Karen and Joshua Copeland and their children Dana, Brianna and Matt, who must battle for survival after civilization comes to an apocalyptic end, triggered by massive storms, meteor strikes, earthquakes and plague – and the rise of supernatural creatures. Julie Sarah Stone, Levi Meaden, and Taylor Hickson will play the three siblings coming of age in the Apocalypse. As 'Deadline' reports Stone is Dana Copeland, the practical, sardonic and quick-witted twin with a thorough knowledge of science. Hickson is the emotional, romantic and rebellious twin, Brianna Copeland. Meaden plays Matt Copeland, the fierce competitor pushed into brutality.

'HOUDINI & DOYLE' TV SHOW

THE NEW TRAILER IS HERE!

Continuing our week of new British series trailers (with the highlight on Sunday), here's the new trailer for ITV's new drama HOUDINI & DOYLE! In the ten episode series, the two of the great characters of the 20th century, Houdini (Michael Weston), master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker, and Doyle (Stephen Mangan), creator of the world’s greatest detective and a paranormal aficionado, grudgingly join forces to investigate crimes with a supernatural slant. Although they’re both rich, famous and brilliant, they’re the original odd couple, with Houdini believing in nothing, Doyle in everything! It starts March 13th!

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON 'HOUDINI & DOYLE' PERIOD SET PARANORMAL PROCEDURAL TV SERIES WITH MICHAEL WESTON AND STEPHEN MANGAN

'HOUDINI & DOYLE' TV SHOW

FIRST TRAILER AND PHOTOS

When winter ends in couple of months one of the first of the brand new period set television series to arrive to us with Spring will be HOUDINI & DOYLE with Michael Weston and Stephen Mangan in the titular roles. The historical crime series will air on ITV Encore in The United Kingdom, at Fox in the United States and also on Shaw Media in Canada, connecting the greatest magician of all times with the legendary creator of Sherlock Holmes! The show itself is based on their real life friendship, which was very unlikely to begin with given that Houdini was a debunker of mediums and psychics, while Doyle was an ardent spiritualist!

SERIES INSPIRED BY A REAL LIFE FRIENDSHIP

Inspired by true events, HOUDINI & DOYLE historical procedural draws heavily on the rich history of the period. Two great men of the 20th Century – Harry Houdini (Michael Weston) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Stephen Mangan) – grudgingly join forces with New Scotland Yard in Edwardian England to investigate unsolved and inexplicable crimes with a supernatural slant. You will watch them teaming up in 1901 London at the behest of Constable Adelaide Stratton (Rebecca Liddiard), a somewhat fictionalized take on a little-known historical figure, to investigate crimes that might or might not have a supernatural component.
In the ten episode series, the two of the great characters of the 20th century, Houdini, master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker, and Doyle, creator of the world’s greatest detective and a paranormal aficionado, grudgingly join forces to investigate crimes with a supernatural slant. Although they’re both rich, famous and brilliant, they’re the original odd couple, with Houdini believing in nothing, Doyle in everything. Emily Carey will appear as Mary Conan Doyle!

1ST 'HOUDINI & DOYLE' TV SERIES PHOTOS WITH STEPHEN MANGAN, MICHAEL WESTON! 'RED MARS' CLASSIC SF SAGA ORDERED INTO SF TV SERIES! ABIGAIL BRESLIN IS BABY IN 'DIRTY DANCING' TV REMAKE

 ABIGAL BRESLIN IS BABY

IN TV'S 'DIRTY DANCING'  REMAKE

In TV news, ABC has found their Baby for the brand new small screen remake of famous dance movie DIRTY DANCING which they will produce in the form of a three hour mini series. Abigail Breslin will take on Jennifer Grey's original role! As 'Deadline' reports, like the original, the new DIRTY DANCING centres on Baby, an innocent young woman in the early 1960’s who vacations with her affluent parents and siblings in the Catskill Mountains and falls for the resort’s working-class dance instructor.

 'RED MARS' SF SAGA

ORDERED INTO TV SERIES  
Meanwhile, 'Deadline' also reports that Spike TV has officially ordered the ten episode sf series based on cult sf novels RED MARS by Kim Stanley Robinson that will air in January 2017 describing the colonization and terra forming of Mars into a place where humans can live sustainably! With rigorous attention to scientific detail, based on at-the-time current science and speculative science, the three novels had the large cast of widely different and richly detailed characters followed over the course of decades and centuries, as well as the somewhat utopian social and political ideals the novels explore.

 'HOUDINI & DOYLE'

FIRST PHOTOS FROM ITV'S PERIOD SET TV SERIES

Over at the British Isles, ITV has revealed the first look from their new historical series HOUDINI & DOYLE, revealing Stephen Mangan as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Michael Weston as Harry Houdini. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the ten part TV drama will explore the duo's friendship and how they, the creator of Sherlock Holmes and one of world's most famous illusionists,  worked with New Scotland Yard on unsolved crimes. The series will air sometime next year inspired by their real life friendship!

MICHAEL WESTON, STEPHEN MANGAN ARE 'HOUDINI & DOYLE' IN NEW EPIC TV SERIES! 'LAST KINGDOM' EPIC SERIES TEASER WITH ALEXANDER DREYMON, MATTHEW MCFADYEN! 'NIGHTINGALE' BESTSELLER GETS ADAPTED

  'HOUDINI & DOYLE' EPIC SERIES

MICHAEL WESTON AND STEPHEN MANGAN TO LEAD THE CAST

In today's TV news, ITV has found the lead star for their intriguing new historical series HOUDINI & DOYLE: the period drama following the real-life friendship of Sherlock Holmes writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and illusionist Harry Houdini will see Stephen Mangan and Michael Weston leading the cast. Mangan will be Doyle, prolific writer and paranormal aficionado, while Weston will be Houdini, master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker. Set at the turn of the 20th century, the drama will explore their unique friendship and how they both worked with New Scotland Yard on unsolved crimes. Rebecca Liddiard will play Constable Adelaide Stratton,  the first female PC to work for the London Metropolitan Police Force. Tim McInnerny will play Inspector Horace Merring, while Adam Nagaitis will appear as Sergeant George Gudgett.

 'THE NIGHTINGALE' BESTSELLER

GETS BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION
Meanwhile, a book that has spent more than 20 weeks on New York Times' bestseller list, THE NIGHTINGALE will get its big screen adaptation. CHRONICLES OF NARNIA's Ann Peacock will pen the script at TriStar based on the book by Kristin Hannah (it is her 21st book), published a few months ago,  an epic family drama about two sisters living in France during WWII in which the story follows them as one becomes a prisoner in her own home and the other fights for the resistance.

 'THE LAST KINGDOM' TEASER

ALEXANDER DREYMON, MATTHEW MACFADYEN EPIC TV SERIES

And I don't know how I missed the first teaser for BBC 2's and BBC America's THE LAST KINGDOM epic series, even though it's constantly on my radar, but here it is now! It stars Alexander Dreymon, Rutger Hauer and Matthew McFadyen, with the story set in the late 9th century, when England was separated into several kingdoms. The Anglo-Saxon lands are attacked and in many instances ruled by Viking forces. The kingdom of Wessex has been left standing alone under the command of King Alfred the Great. Dreymon's Uhtred - the orphaned son of a Saxon nobleman, is kidnapped by Norsemen and raised as one of them. Forced to choose between a kingdom that shares his ancestry and the people of his upbringing, his loyalties are ever tested.

SIR LANCELOT 'MAN AT ARMS' FILM! THREE NEW ROBIN HOOD MOVIES: 'HOOD', 'ROBIN HOOD: ORIGINS', 'NOTTINGHAM AND HOOD'! 'HOUDINI AND DOYLE' TV SERIES TO TEAM UP ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE AND THE FAMOUS MAGICIAN

'MAN AT ARMS' EPIC MOVIE

ON OLDER SIR LANCELOT

Since Hollywood seems to be obsessed with English Medieval times, two new projects set in the period have been announced, joining Guy Ritchie's KING ARTHUR. Jonathan Liebesman (NINJA TURTLES) will helm MAN AT ARMS working again with producer Basil Iwanyk with whom he did CLASH OF THE TITANS. The story follows Sir Lancelot as an older man who is bent on making amends after his love for Guinevere (and hers for him) ended up destroying Arthur’s Camelot.

THREE NEW ROBIN HOOD MOVIES
Jeremy Lott who worked on the script for the above mentioned MAN AT ARMS is also writing HOOD for Sony, in which Robin Hood story is described as 'Fast and Furious' meets 'Mission: Impossible'! Meanwhile, Lionsgate has entered the Robin Hood race with ROBIN HOOD: ORIGINS which is described as an edgier take on the famous hero who takes from the rich and gives to the poor. It is written by Joby Harold who wrote Ritchie's KING ARTHUR. The third project is Disney's NOTTINGHAM AND HOOD, which will be more adventurous and fairy taleish! 

'HOUDINI & DOYLE' TV SHOW

TEAMING UP SHERLOCK'S AUTHOR AND THE FAMOUS ILLUSIONIST

Meanwhile, Fox and British ITV will team up to produce HOUDINI & DOYLE historical series, a supernatural crime drama inspired by the unlikely real-life friendship between Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and illusionist Harry Houdini! In the ten episode series, the two of the great characters of the 20th century, Houdini, master magician, escape artist and paranormal debunker, and Doyle, creator of the world’s greatest detective and a paranormal aficionado, grudgingly join forces to investigate crimes with a supernatural slant. Although they’re both rich, famous and brilliant, they’re the original odd couple, with Houdini believing in nothing, Doyle in everything.