Following on from recent announcements by TVNZ and MediaWorks (TV3 and Four), Prime unveiled its 2013 season line-up yesterday, and they're looking more competitive with the major networks than ever.
With new exclusive rights to programmes from America's CBS network, they've got a clutch of drama series with some big names attached.
One that may stand out for Kiwis is Jay Ryan who played Kevin in local hit series Go Girls. He'll star in a modern re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast as doctor Vincent Keller, who enlisted in the army only to have his DNA altered in such a way as to make him a beast, forcing him into hiding. He's still a nice guy underneath though, saving damsels in distress across New York - which is how Detective Catherine Chandler (played by Kristin Kreuk, best known for her role in Smallville) discovers his existence, and realises he's intertwined with her own past.
Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis star in Vegas, which continues America's current obsession with stylish dramas set in the 50s and 60s. They play nemeses in a battle for power in 1960s Vegas - Quaid as a rancher turned reluctant sheriff who's not happy about the swelling number of high rise casinos and escalating corruption, and Chiklis as a Chicago mob man determined to make Vegas his town.
Elementary is another re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes telling the famous stories in a modern setting - but unlike the BBC's version, Elementary makes Holmes (played by Jonny Lee Miller) a recovering alcoholic who's been sent to New York after falling from grace in London, and turns Dr Watson into a woman - an addiction specialist played by Lucy Liu.
