A brand new
fourth series of
Torchwood, containing a total of
10 episodes, has been confirmed in an announcement by the BBC, and will be produced by BBC Wales, BBC Worldwide, and the American network Starz Entertainment.
The next series has been confirmed to, once again, feature
John Barrowman as everyone's favourite 'omni-sexual' time agent Captain Jack Harkness, and
Eve Myles as Gwen Cooper, though there have been no official confirmation of other returning characters. However, Rhys is almost definitely going to return, on the grounds that he is Gwen's husband and father of her child; Russell T Davies has also described in the past how Rhys helps keep Gwen's feet - along with the show itself - firmly in the real world.
The new series will also feature
brand new characters for the Torchwood team and a whole host of adventures all
across the globe!
Here's what the makers have to say...
Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning:
"We have a long history of working with many U.S. networks but it is incredibly exciting to be working with Starz for the first time, as well as to be reunited with the best of British in Russell, Jane and Julie. Torchwood will burst back onto the screen with a shocking and moving story with global stakes and locations that will make it feel bigger and bolder than ever."
Jane Tranter, EVP, BBC Worldwide Productions:
"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 instalment yet."
Chris Albrecht, LLC, President and CEO of Starz:
"We're committed to programming exceptional television that is entertaining, imaginative and provides a premium TV experience, and by any measure the new concept for Torchwood fits that mandate. I've been part of successful partnerships with Jane Tranter and the BBC previously, and I'm very much looking forward to working with them again."
In The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Albrecht said this:
"It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Each season of the show, the show has evolved and "The Children of Earth" was terrific as evident in it was just named a Television Critics Press Awards nominee. I'm interested in doing sci-fi and what I like a lot about "Torchwood" is it's a very classic sci-fi entry. It's all about the story, it's not about big effects. 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."
"At the end of 'Children of Earth' Torchwood was destroyed, so when we pick up in our world the need for Torchwood arises again. A lot of this story takes place in the U.S. as well with several characters that are in the U.S. intelligence forces and end up teaming up with Gwen and Captain Jack to deal with the situation at hand."
The Hollywood Reporter also spoke to Russell T Davies:
"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."
"We're simply going to tell a good story. I wrote the pilot 7 months ago irregardless of network. BBC1 is a prime-time channel, but a brave channel. I don't worry about content."
Series 4 is rumoured to begin broadcasting during
Summer of 2011, though again no confirmation of this or production dates have been made.
So there you have it!
Torchwood LIVES! Sorry, Ianto fans.
> Visit the new Torchwood Fansite
> BBC Torchwood website
What do you make of this news? What do you hope will be in Series 4?
Please comment.
