M-Net has secured the rights for Terra Nova, a new series executive produced by Steven Spielberg, from the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is set to reach South African homes on M-Net and M-Net HD in early 2012.
“M-Net is thrilled to have to have secured the rights to one of the hottest series of the season and we know that our subscribers are as excited as we are to be a part of the epic saga that is Terra Nova,” said Tracey Gilchrist, M-Net’s head of international acquisitions.
The series was shot on Australia’s Gold Coast at an average cost of $4million per episode.
The first actor cast was Jason O’Mara, known to M-Net audiences as Lt. Thomas Meehan in the Emmy award-winning and critically acclaimed miniseries Band of Brothers. Thereafter, O’Mara starred in Grey’s Anatomy, followed by Men in Trees and The Closer. Band of Brothers was also the first time audiences got a taste of the powerful relationship shared by O’Mara and film icon Steven Spielberg.
According to IMDB the series centres on the Shannons, an ordinary family from the year 2149 who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization.
Early ratings of 9.6 on IMDB and 9.1 on TV.com seem to indicate a blockbuster series.
