LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- With the cable portion of the TCA Summer Press Tour set to begin on Friday, August 6, details have emerged on which series the networks will be presenting.
Among the just announced offerings (premiere dates, if specified, are listed in parenthesis):
A&E Networks: Tony Danza plays teacher for real in "Teach: Tony Danza" (TBA on A&E); "Top Gear" premieres its U.S. incarnation on History (Q4 2010); and Brad Meltzer delves into hidden codes and symbols in "Brad Meltzer's Decoded" (also Q4 2010 on History).
BBC America: Idris Elba toplines the crime thriller "Luther" (Wednesday, November 10); while the 2040-set "Outcasts" (Friday, December 10) tracks the pioneers of a new settlement on a nearby planet as the future of Earth looks increasingly precarious.
Discovery Networks: Les Stroud will seek out the last indigenous tribes in the most remote corners of the planet in "Primal Survival with Les Stroud" (Friday, September 10 on Discovery); Sir David Attenborough explores the first animals to appear on Earth in the aptly titled "First Animals" (Q4 2010 on Discovery); billionaire inventor Dean Kamen - who holds the patents on the Segway, the insulin pump and the robotic prosthetic, "Luke Arm" - is tracked in "Dean of Invention" (TBA on Planet Green); and "Hardcover Mysteries" (Monday, October 11 on Investigation Discovery) features bestselling authors as they discuss the real-life cases that inspired their novels.
HBO: Terence Winter and Martin Scorsese's "Boardwalk Empire" (September) will spearhead the pay channel's efforts this fall; to be joined by Spike Lee's "When the Levees Broke" follow-up "If God is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise" (August 23-24) and Carrie Fisher's autobiography "Wishful Drinking" (December).
MTV Networks: MTV proper will trot out its "Teen Wolf" remake (Q4 2010) and its "Skins" redo (Q1 2011); Lisa Rinna and husband Harry Hamlin are the focus of TV Land's "Harry Loves Lisa" (October); and Fred Figglehorn toplines Nickelodeon's "Fred: The Movie" (September).
Starz: the pay channel's "Spartacus" prequel is set for January; to be followed by its "Camelot" update (Q1 or Q2 2011); and its "Torchwood" import (Summer 2011).
WE tv: Joan Rivers, along with her four dogs and two live-ins, moves in with daughter Melissa in "Mother Knows Best" (Thursday, December 2); and Laura and Todd Bruce face the tough economic times with the help of their seven kids - daughters Heather, Bailey, Whitney and Danielle; and sons Levi, Dylan and Rex - in "Downsized" (also Thursday, December 2).
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