Primeval: New World is a science fiction television program, set in Vancouver, British Columbia, created by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. A co-production between Britain's Impossible Pictures and Canada's Omni Film Productions, for Space. The series is a spinoff of the British series Primeval. However, the two shows have little to do with each other. It was broadcast on Space in Canada, and on Watch in the United Kingdom. As with Primeval, the premise of Primeval: New World involves a team who has to deal with animals from the past and future that travel through time to the present day through anomalies. On 21 February 2013, it was announced that the series had been cancelled after a single season. In February 2024, a licensed spinoff novel called Primeval: New World: The Ascent was announced. It was released on March 22, 2024, on the Kindle store with a paperback release on November 12 of that year.
Plot In the Primeval series, animals and people from the past and future travel through time to the present day via anomalies, fictional phenomena which act as portals through time. In Primeval: New World, set in Vancouver, British Columbia, anomalies begin opening in Canada. Evan Cross (Niall Matter), a software inventor who encountered an anomaly six years ago, creates the Special Projects Group to investigate the anomalies.
Cast
Niall Matter as Evan Cross: an inventor specializing in software. Cross has been searching for anomalies after encountering an Albertosaurus six years prior to the start of the series. A lab in his company, Cross Photonics, is used as the team's base. Matter cited the action sequences as his reason for joining the show, and he performed many of the character's stunts himself. Sara Canning as Dylan Weir: a conservation officer and expert in predatory behaviour. Canning researched aspects of the role by contacting her aunt, a park ranger in New Brunswick, who was able to provide her with details on equipment and training for the character. Danny Rahim as Mac Rendell: an expert in firearms. Crystal Lowe as Toby Nance: the builder of the devices that track anomalies. In the episode "Babes in the Woods" It is revealed she is bisexual Miranda Frigon as Angelika Finch: the CFO of Cross Photonics. Geoff Gustafson as Lieutenant Ken Leeds: a Royal Canadian Air Force officer and the head of the government's Project Magnet. In October 2011, Haines indicated that characters from Primeval could appear in some capacity, stating "We've only got one at the moment... We haven't worked that out". Space and Impossible Pictures jointly revealed the cast of the series in March 2012. Andrew-Lee Potts, who played Connor Temple in Primeval, reprises his role in the first and final episodes. Potts indicated his character would be used to tie the two series together, saying Connor appears to "rectify something that may have gone wrong, and to try prevent it getting worse." In addition to the main cast, numerous former Stargate franchise actors, including Lexa Doig, Louis Ferreira, and Dan Payne, were cast in various guest roles. Additionally Amanda Tapping directed three episodes. Niall Matter's former Eureka co-star Colin Ferguson guest-starred in one episode as a quirky scientist (basically switching the roles they previously played).
Episodes
Production
Development Rumours of a Primeval spin-off date originated in June 2009 when, in an interview with Digital Spy, co-creator Tim Haines said "We're working on [a spin-off] with people in Canada". On 15 September 2011, Bell Media announced that Primeval: New World had been commissioned for Space as a co-production between Omni Film Productions and Impossible Pictures, stating "The series... will build on the UK Primeval mythology, taking place in the same universe that we've come to know and love. The story will centre on a new Canadian team of animal experts taking on whatever past or future creatures come through the anomalies that are now appearing around the world." Omni, Space, and Impossible Pictures collaborated for two-and-a-half years before announcing the series. Primeval: New World was created by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Haines is signed on as an executive producer, as are Sanctuary contributors Martin Wood and Gillian Horvath. 13 episodes were commissioned for the first series. Katie Newman of Impossible Pictures stated the tone will be "older, darker and scarier" than the original. Haines envisaged some crossover with Primeval but stated that the storyline would be mostly self-contained, describing it as a spin-off in the vein of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Corrie Coe, the senior vice-president of independent production at Bell, called it "a parallel yet independent series". In their press release, Bell Media said the "story and character development will move between the two series, uniting different plotlines."
Casting Niall Matter and Sara Canning were announced as the leads for the show in March 2012. In July 2012 it was confirmed that Matter's Eureka alum Colin Ferguson and Lexa Doig would appear as guest stars in the series, with Louis Ferreira and Dan Payne also to appear in the series. It was also confirmed that Andrew-Lee Potts would reprise his role as Connor Temple from the original Primeval series.
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