'Primeval' boss talks renewal, future

Three months ago, ITV announced that it was pulling the plug on Saturday night dino drama Primeval after three series. Fans were suitably outraged: the ratings were good, and the series had ended on an almighty cliffhanger. But in a surprise twist, ITV today confirmed that it is bringing the show back for not one, but two new series under a co-production deal with digital channel Watch. Excited, we called up co-creator Tim Haines to find out how the show's resurrection came about.

You must be feeling good about today's announcement...
"Oh, very good. Obviously I knew about it before! But it was very good to finally crack it. The series was doing fine, we were prepared to continue the story and then everything that happened at ITV gave us a very, very high bar to get over."

How did the new deal come about?
"We started down the process way back, and we had got agreement with ITV in principle to look for other people to come in on the project, but come the summer we had to do absolutely everything. So there is the new deal with Watch and there is some more money from co-producers. Fortunately the series is very successful abroad and none of those producers wanted to see it finish either. Also we're moving the show to Dublin, where we'll be getting tax breaks, so that helps. Essentially, the budget stays as a £1 million show, which is important, because you don't want to come back with a cheap show. But we had to make the deal different for ITV."

How will moving to Dublin affect the show?
"It was shot in Surrey but apart from one show, which was in the British Museum, we never really identified it as being anywhere in particular. Actually going to Dublin is brilliant because it gives us a lot more locations nearby - there will be modern blocks, castles and shopping centres. But now we can do the coast as well if we want to!"

Was there ever a point where you thought the show was finished?
"I can't really answer that question. I don't give up easily and as I say, except for ITV's predicament, there was no reason it should finish. It was a very tricky time."

How big a part does someone like Pro7 play? The show seems to be wildly popular in Germany!
"They are very important. They certainly stayed with us and held the slot open, because they believed we would find a way of bringing it back. If, after ITV's announcement, they'd decided to abandon it, then we'd have faced the problem of reselling it to them in two or three months' time. So that was very good. BBC America has had a great success with it, and also, BBC Worldwide sold it to 45 countries worldwide. It's bigger than Lost in South Korea! These sort of things help."

Have you got all of the cast back?
"Yes, they're all coming back, which is fantastic. Obviously we've got to be careful about how we book them. This is the longest run that's been commissioned. We started off getting six episodes, then seven and then ten. Now it's 13. So it's a long stint for them, but they've all signed up."

Technically this is going out as two series though. Is it going to be considered one in terms of storytelling?
"No, it's always got very heavy serial elements. As far as Watch is concerned, there'll be a midseason climax, but it can be viewed as one long run."

What's the timescale for getting up and running with production again?
"We're starting to write scripts straight away and we're aiming to deliver in January 2011."

And are you still progressing with a US version of the show?
"Yes. Well, there's a feature film, contracts for which should be signed shortly. We are still talking to Canadian partners about a US version, as well as a children's animation and things like that. But you never know how those go. Sometimes they seem to stop, then accelerate forward, but they're still all there."

Primeval airs on ITV1 and Watch from 2011.

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