Syfy Picks Up More Merlin

NEW YORK: Syfy has acquired the third season of Merlin from FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), to make its U.S. TV debut in early 2011.

The second season of Merlin wrapped on July 2, averaging 1.72 million total viewers. New guests stars are to appear in the new season, including Warwick Davis (The Harry Potter series, The Chronicles of Narnia), Miriam Margoyles (The Harry Potter series, Being Julia) and Mark Williams (The Harry Potter series, The Fast Show), with John Hurt returning to provide the voice of the Great Dragon.

Chris Regina, the VP of programming and original movies at Syfy, said: “The enchanting imagination of Merlin proved very popular with our audience and we’re delighted to bring the series back for a third season on Syfy.” 

Lisa Honig, the senior VP of program distribution at FME North America, commented: ‘‘We are extremely excited about the next season of Merlin returning on Syfy, following the success we had with the second series. We look forward to growing the audience and feeding the appetite of the devotees who already love the program, the characters and the brand.”

Merlin creator and executive producer Johnny Capps added: “We are thrilled that Syfy will be broadcasting the third series of Merlin. The upcoming season will add an exciting new twist to Merlin’s ongoing struggle to protect Prince Arthur, as well as thrilling audiences with bigger and bolder action sequences, stunning CGI monsters, mysterious villains and comic fun for all the family.”