BBC America - August Highlights

AUGUST HIGHLIGHTS

DRAMAVILLE

BBC AMERICA's weekly, hour-long, British drama slot, Dramaville, launches Wednesday, August 17, 10:00p.m. ET/PT beginning with The Hour, a six-part edge-of-your-seat espionage thriller set in the 1950s. The slot, hosted by Golden Globe nominee and Luther star Idris Elba, continues with Luther premiering September 28 and Whitechapel on October 26.

THE HOUR - U.S. PREMIERE

Created and written by BAFTA award-winning Abi Morgan (White Girl, Sex Traffic), The Hour stars Dominic West (The Wire), Romola Garai (One Day, Emma) and Ben Whishaw (Bright Star, Brideshead Revisited) locked in a highly competitive, sharp witted and passionate love triangle. The series, set behind the scenes of the BBC's newsroom in London in the mid '50s, is an edge-of-your-seat spy thriller. It follows the lives of three characters as they set up a new weekly investigative news program, The Hour. The drama plots the personal lives, professional interplay and jealous ambition between aspiring but renegade journalist Freddie Lyon (Whishaw), the beautiful ambitious young producer Bel Rowley (Garai) with whom he is in love, and his handsome rival Hector Madden (West), the face and lead anchorman of this rising television news team. The Hour plays out as a riveting thriller set against the backdrop of the Cold War and Ian Fleming's world of espionage. The Hour premieres Wednesday, August 17, 10:00pm ET/PT.

TOP GEAR - U.S. PREMIERE

The world's biggest car show returns for its seventeenth all-new season with witty and unabashedly honest hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. Full of challenges, stunts and special features, the series follows the hosts as they take cars to the limit and beyond. In the new season premiere, Clarkson celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar E-type by driving a modern, half a million pound interpretation of this classic sports car before putting on a typically low key birthday party involving live music, classic fighter planes and a group of Royal Marines. Richard Hammond is in South Africa to test a bigger, even more rugged alternative to the famous Hummer, while James May meets up with bobsleigh gold medal winning British Olympian Amy Williams for a wintry test of the latest Mini rally car. Top Gear premieres Monday, August 22, 9:00pm ET/PT.

GORDON RAMSAY'S F WORD - U.S. PREMIERE

Gordon Ramsay returns for an all new season of television's most entertaining food show with a new mission, find the best local restaurant in nine categories: Italian, Indian, French, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, The Americas, British, Rest of the World. Ramsay uses this opportunity to seek out the highest quality food at the affordable prices. The top two restaurants in each category will be challenged with the task of cooking with Ramsay in the F Word restaurant for fifty paying customers, with the best restaurants competing in the grand finale to be crowned The F Word's Best Local Restaurant. Gordon Ramsay's F Word premieres Tuesday, August 9, 9:00pm ET/PT.

GORDON RAMSAY'S SHARK BAIT - U.S. PREMIERE

The world's most famous chef exposes the shocking practices that are threatening the existence of sharks, one of the earth's most amazing creatures. Ramsay confronts those that are responsible for the shark's steep decline including illicit fisherman, traders and diners. Gordon Ramsay's Shark Bait premieres Tuesday, August 9, 11:00pm ET/PT.

LAW & ORDER: UK - U.S. PREMIERE

As Law & Order: UK returns to BBC AMERICA screens for its third season this summer, the critically acclaimed drama, based on Dick Wolf's award-winning long-running crime franchise, brings some new and some familiar faces to the criminal investigation team, as well as some hard-hitting storylines. The critically acclaimed cast, which includes Bradley Walsh, Jamie Bamber and Freema Agyeman, now have a tough new ally in their fight for justice in the form of Senior Crown Prosecutor, Jake Thorne - a gifted and uncompromising criminal prosecutor - played by Dominic Rowan (Catwalk Dogs, The Family Man). Law & Order: UK premieres Wednesday, August 17, 9:00pm ET/PT.

NEW SPECIALS

DOCTOR WHO SPECIALS - U.S. PREMIERE

This August, get ready for the return of Doctor Who with a collection of specials featuring the best moments of the Doctor, the monsters and companions. Also, take a rare look behind-the-scenes of the epic series and join celebrity fans as they discuss their favorite Doctor Who moments.

DOCTOR WHO: BEST OF THE DOCTOR

Follow the current Doctor, Matt Smith, through an in-depth look at his very best moments. Join celebrity fans as they discuss their favorite moments from Doctor Who. Doctor Who: Best of The Doctor premieres Saturday, August 13, 9:00pm ET/PT.

DOCTOR WHO: BEST OF THE MONSTERS

Look back at the Doctor's most terrifying, unusual and iconic monsters as celebrity fans join in with their favorites. Doctor Who: Best of The Monsters premieres Saturday, August 20, 9:00pm ET/PT.

DOCTOR WHO CONFIDENTIAL

Go behind-the-scenes of Doctor Who in these 15-minute episodes to meet the cast, production crew and other key people who play an integral part in making the epic series. This rare opportunity gives an inside look at the making of the most exciting season of Doctor Who. Doctor Who Confidential premieres Friday, August 26, 9:00pm, 10:15pm, 11:30pm, Saturday, August 27, 12:45am, 2:00am, 3:15am, 4:30am ET/PT.

DOCTOR WHO: BEST OF THE COMPANIONS

Join celebrity fans and the Doctor for an in-depth look at the best moments of the Doctor's trusty companions Amy, Rory and River Song. Doctor Who: Best of The Companions premieres Saturday, August 27, 9:50pm ET/PT.

SEAN CONNERY SUNDAYS

Join in the celebration of Sir Sean Connery's 81st birthday with the best of Connery's films on Sundays this August.

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN - BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

The action-adventure film set in an alternate Victorian Age world features Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain, a legendary hunter and adventurer. Quatermain is recruited into a group of famous, contemporary fantasy, science-fiction and adventure characters who team up for a secret mission. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen premieres Sunday, August 7, 8:00pm ET/PT

ENTRAPMENT - BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

Sean Connery stars as a Robert "Mac" MacDougal, a master art thief, who is a suspect in the case of a missing Rembrandt painting. The insurance investigator sent to inquire about the missing art, Virginia "Gin" Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones), attempts to entrap him with a proposition, claiming she is a thief herself. Entrapment premieres Sunday, August 14, 8:00pm ET/PT

RISING SUN

Former police captain, John Conner (Sean Connery), and Police Detective Web Smith (Wesley Snipes) are sent to investigate the murder of an American escort at a Japanese corporation. Conner quickly decides that the issues goes far beyond the murder and the investigation exposes much more than was expected.

Rising Sun premieres Sunday, August 21, 8:00pm ET/PT

NEW MOVIES

BATMAN FOREVER - BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

Batman (Val Kilmer) must battle Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) and The Riddler (Jim Carrey) with help of Robin (Chris O'Donnell), an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick. Nicole Kidman also stars as Dr. Chase Meridian. Batman Forever premieres Thursday, August 4, 9:00pm ET/PT.

TRAINSPOTTING - BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor), a heroin addict, attempts to quit his addiction and clean up despite the allure of the drugs and the influence of his friends. Trainspotting premieres Saturday, August 13, 12:00pm ET/PT.

ONGOING PREMIERES:

Other series that will continue to premiere new episodes during August include:

Mondays: James May Drinks to Britain

Tuesdays: Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape

Saturdays: Battlestar Galactica, Outcasts, The Graham Norton Show, Outnumbered, Friday Night Dinner