Caprica cancelled at mid-season? It certainly looks that way.

EDIT: Please, make sure you read the update below for clarification.
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A source confirmed to Matt Mitovich at Fancast over the weekend that Caprica definitely didn't get renewed in August:

With the ‘Caprica’ actors’ contracts expiring, executive producer David Eick said we’d hear a decision on Season 2 by August 15. It’s now almost September. Is the show canceled? – Pete
That deadline came and went, yes, but a source very close to Syfy’s ‘Caprica’ told me during Emmys weekend that NBC Universal worked out an “extension” that bought them until November to make a call on a pick-up. So hold out hope, Pete.

Of course, all this really means is that the actors' contracts have expired, that the show definitely didn't get picked up for a second season, and we won't be hearing anything else on the matter before the DVDs go on sale (October). A bizarre situation for a show like this one, really, to have its fate sealed after only nine aired episodes, whether we hear about the decision tomorrow or in November.

So as of August 31, 2010, this is it: One season. 18 episodes. Three years to air them. Three separate DVD releases. You'd think anything short of a season two order would be pushing the boundaries on shameless. And yet here we are.

Granted, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this "extension" is real and not just more BS from the network. But if there really is any hope at all for this show, Syfy's PR people are sure as hell doing a disastrous job selling it.

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UPDATE: Okay,  the contract extension has been confirmed by Alessandra Torresani.

And, since Matt Mitovich is (rightfully) protesting the spin I put on his source's words both on Twitter and in the comments, just a quick explanation why I'm not changing the title of this post or taking any of it back: I don't doubt that his source is impervious. I didn't doubt Airlock Alpha's sources either when they said that we'd hear something concrete by the end of June, that the show has been picked up for a shorter second season, and that we'd probably get an announcement at the TCAs. It certainly never occurred to me to doubt David Eick's word when he said we'd hear something by August 15.

And you know what? I'm sure not all of those people were out to deliberately mislead. The sad fact is, as much as their heart may have been in the right place, tomorrow is September 1 and all we have is another frakking deadline. They just don't count for much anymore. Has the show been officially cancelled? Obviously not, that's probably been the most worn out phrase on Twitter in recent months. But has Syfy given us a single shred of hope that there is a second season on the horizon or any indication that they give a flying frak about Caprica's future beyond protecting those DVD sales? No. All they said via official sources is that season 1.5 is getting pushed back to January and that the DVD will be out in October.

Bottom line, the only real bit of news I saw in Mitovich's article is that no, the actors' contracts did not get picked up this month. The contract extension bit was coming from another anonymous source and I blew it off as BS. I am not apologizing for that, I'd do it again in a heartbeat with any anonymous source giving more no-news at this point, impervious or not. I am, however, sorry if this post has upset a few people who were new to this blog and the whole renewal soap. I hope Alessandra's tweet has reassured them that there is still cause for optimism, with the contracts now extended till November and all, and that the soap is not over but will indeed continue for another couple of months at least.

Where to catch the cast this fall

August 15 has come and gone with no news about the actors' contracts getting picked up for a second season or any word on what Syfy is thinking these days, but with the cast appearing in about a gazillion other things this fall, the hiatus blues should be getting easier.

If you're in New York some time between September and January, you can catch a short film, Untitled, with Eric Stoltz starring, at MoMA (see article.)

No release date has been set yet for his last feature, Fort McCoy (pic left), but IMDb still says 2010, so fingers crossed.

And this is still unconfirmed, but an extras casting director tweeted yesterday that our daddy Graystone will direct one of the new episodes of Glee. If true, the episode should air in the first half of the season. The show returns on Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 8 on Fox.

Alessandra Torresani has been cast in Playback, Michael A. Nickles' new horror flick that starts shooting this week (synopsis here). You can follow her on Twitter for updates and make sure to check out the interview she gave EW after being voted the Ultimate Sci Fi Hottie of 2010 earlier this month. The interview is on her site. Here is a snippet:  

Since a second season is still up in the air, could these last 10 episodes wrap up the narrative on their own?
Alessandra: It would be really disappointing if it didn’t go to a second season. At Comic-Con, [executive producers] Ron Moore and David Eick sat us all down, and [told us] probably the most genius second-season plan I have ever heard. It would be mind-blowing to me if we didn’t get to do that, because there’s so much more to tap in. There are so many secrets that no one knows about, that only [Moore and Eick] do. I would be disappointed if we didn’t go to a second season, because the back ten explain a lot.

Esai Morales has just wrapped filming Gun Hill Road, a family drama set in the Bronx, directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green and also starring Judy Reyes and Vincent Laresca. You can see some pics from the set on Esai's Facebook page.

He also appears in Cherry, a comedy with Laura Allen (The 4400) and Kyle Gallner, that will be shown at the Boston Film Festival on September 20 (updates at CherryTheMovie.com and on Facebook), and in Panic Nation, a documentary on immigration laws that recently won the Best Documentary Award at the Broadway International Film Festival. The film will be screened at several festivals in the next couple of months. For dates and venues, go to PanicNationMovie.com or follow Panic Nation on Twitter. Another recent movie of his, King of the Avenue, will be out on DVD on October 26. You can get it on Amazon.

Paula Malcomson will appear in eight episodes of Sons of Anarchy this season. You can see a couple of previews here. Season three kicks off on Tuesday, September 7, at 10 on FX.

Polly Walker will guest star in a couple of episodes of Sanctuary this fall (will tweet air dates when they show up). The show returns on Tuesday, September 28 at 10 on Syfy. This is also a good opportunity to get acquainted with Ryan Robbins, who will appear in five episodes of Caprica in Clarice's storyline and is a series regular on Sanctuary. (You can also catch him in the new horror film Manson, My Name Is Evil, which is out on October 12 - link).

Polly Walker also has a role in Disney's live-action adaptation of John Carter of Mars. The film was shot earlier this year, but won't see the light of day until June 2012. For updates, keep an eye on JohnCarterMovie.com.  

Clash of the Titans, in which Polly briefly appears as Cassiopeia, was released on DVD and Blu-ray in late July.

Sasha Roiz will guest star on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation alongside Elliott Gould this fall. The episode, "Pool Shark," was directed by Michael Nankin and will air on September 30 on CBS.

You can also see Sasha in the web series Crazy/Sexy/Awkward (episode one). Back in June, he also mentioned doing a short film, but no details on that one yet.

His last movie, Unthinkable, was released on DVD on June 15.

Magda Apanowicz, Genevieve Buechner and Liam Sproule (Keon) can be seen in the TV film Bond of Silence, which premiered the other day on Lifetime. You can see the trailer, find the airing schedule, or watch the film online on Lifetime's site. Magda joined Twitter this week, so you can follow her there to see what else she's been up to.

Genevieve Buechner has also joined Richard Harmon in Judas Kiss (article here), an independent movie currently in production in Seattle. Michael Hinman posted a podcast from the set this week. You can check it out on Alpha Waves Radio.

Genevieve also has a part in Daydream Nation, a drama that will make its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. For the trailer and screening schedule, visit TIFF.net.

Richard Harmon will appear in Dear Mr. Gacy, a film that will be released some time later this year, and Tower Prep, Cartoon Network's new show that premieres this fall.

If you're attending the Toronto Film Festival, you'll probably wanna catch A Night for Dying Tigers, an independent drama with Caprica's Leah Gibson and John Pyper-Ferguson in the main cast (TIFF listing, trailer and screening times). Pyper-Ferguson has two other movies premiering in Toronto: Score: A Hockey Musical, (TIFF listing) and Tony Goldwyn's Conviction (fka Betty Anne Waters - TIFF listing), starring Hilary Swank, which will get a limited release in October.

If that's not enough, you can also catch him in the recently released drama Hungry Hills (official site), martial arts flick Tekken (trailer), and the upcoming horror/thriller Die (pics and synopsis).

Leah Gibson had a brief appearance in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and did a comedy called Indie Jonesing, currently in post-production. For more updates on her projects, you can follow her on Twitter.

Hiro Kanagawa (Cyrus) has written a play, The Patron Saint of Stanley Park, that opens at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver in late November (link). He also did a TV movie, Earth's Final Hours, that won't air until June. In the meantime, you can catch him in the action flick The King of Fighters (trailer), starring Maggie Q and Ray Park, that will hopefully get a release date before then.

Brian Markinson (Agent Duram) will be a series regular on Shattered (article, trailer 1, trailer 2), a new show that premieres on September 1 at 10 on Global. He will play shrink to none other than Callum Keith Rennie. James Pizzinato (Drew, Graystone's lab boy), will be another familiar face in the pilot.

And to round up the guest appearances:

• Patton Oswalt has signed on to guest star on Bored to Death (article). No mention of specific episode(s) yet. The show returns on September 26 at 10 on HBO.
• Scott Porter will appear in episode 5.07 of Friday Night Lights (executive produced by Jeffrey Reiner, with Patrick Massett and John Zinman serving as consulting producers) and he will also have a recurring role on The Good Wife this season (article). The final season of Friday Night Lights kicks off on October 27 on DirecTV and The Good Wife returns on Tuesday, September 28 at 10 (CBS).
• James Marsters will be back on Smallville in the show's last season. He will appear in the 200th episode (tentative air date is October 14). Before that, he will guest star in the Hawaii Five-0 pilot alongside Grace Park -- the show premieres on Monday, September 20 at 10 (CBS). As a sidenote, Marsters starts shooting Three Inches, a new pilot for Syfy, in Toronto this week (press release). His castmates will include Stephanie Jacobsen (Razor, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Naoko Mori (Torchwood).

Two other shows to keep an eye on are AMC's The Walking Dead (non-U.S. friendly trailer), for your regular dose of Bear McCreary, and the CW's Hellcats, which shares showrunner Kevin Murphy with Caprica. Aaron Douglas and Ryan Kennedy (who will have a recurring role in Caprica 1.5 in Lacy's storyline) will both appear on the show. (Quick note: Kennedy has also been cast on Facing Kate, USA's new "anti-law" drama starring Michael Trucco, which starts airing in January.) 

The Walking Dead premieres on Sunday, October 31 at 10, and Hellcats will see the light of day on Wednesday, September 8 at 9.

Caprica Season 1.0 DVD release date & details

NBC Universal has confirmed October 5, 2010, as the release date for the Caprica Season 1.0 DVD. Other than the episodes, the TV version of the pilot, as well as the unaired extended cut, the DVD will have a bunch of extra features. Here is the complete list:

• Season 1.5 Sneak Peek: An all-new sneak peek at upcoming episodes featuring Ronald D. Moore and the Caprica cast.
• 13 Video Blogs: A look behind-the-scenes and from the set of Caprica.
• Podcasts with co-creator/executive producer, Ronald D. Moore, executive producer David Eick, co-executive producer Jonas Pate and the Caprica cast and crew.
• Feature Commentaries with co-creator/executive producer Ronald D. Moore, executive producers Jane Espenson and David Eick along with director Jeffrey Reiner.
• Unaired and Extended Pilot Episode: with commentary from director Jeffrey Reiner, executive producer/writer Ronald D. Moore and executive producer David Eick.
• The Caprica Dynasty: Viewers will learn how Caprica came about and discover from the cast exactly what it was that appealed to them about the project and their experiences making it.
• The Look of Caprica: With its unique take on futuristic style, Caprica redefines the Sci-Fi genre with a mix of film noir and classic 1940s fashion. Fans will discover the influences for this distinctive look and learn how it was achieved.
• Creating a World: Visual Effects supervisor, Gary Hutzel and his team lift the lid on the virtual sets, CGI Cylons and matte backgrounds that makes up the futuristic world of Caprica.
• 48 Deleted Scenes

You can preorder the DVD on Amazon.

Possible DVD release date for Caprica Season 1.0 & Season 2.0 update (sort of)

This just in, from TVShowsonDVD (hit the link to see the DVD menu screens):

Late this afternoon we received word from a reliable industry contact about the release date and cost for this title. It should only be considered a rumor for now, because it's not confirmed through the studio at this time. But our source has proven accurate enough in the past that we feel good about passing along the "gossip" that Caprica - Season 1.0 will be available on October 5th, at a cost of $49.98 SRP in the USA and CA$57.99 SRP in Canada. Only a DVD version was indicated; there wasn't any Blu-ray talk.

Last (and only) word on the Season 1.0 DVD came in July, when Amazon.co.uk posted that it would be released in region 2 on October 11. Whether or not the date for region 1 changes this, at least we have a rough date. None of this is coming directly from Syfy or NBC, mind you, so stay tuned for the confirmation and details.

Also, if you didn't catch the interview with David Eick posted by MediaBlvd earlier this week, he said we would hear about season two "by August 15 or before." So yeah, countdown.

The reason why I'm even bringing up anything that's not definite news about renewal or cancellation at this point (blame it on severe rumour burnout), is that I won't be around to post any timely updates for the next two or three weeks. I know, spectacularly bad timing, but it is what it is and I'm sorry for the inconvenience. For real time updates, I warmly recommend doing a Twitter search every once in a while. If there is news, someone will tweet it. You can also follow the cast members (accounts linked in the sidebar) or add their tweets to your feed reader. Esai Morales joined just the other day.

And speaking of, Destiny Radio Network posted a really great interview with him yesterday, taped at the London Expo back in May.

Last but not least, Bob Harris' "Beyond Caprica: A Visitor's Pocket Guide to the Twelve Colonies" is available at the NBC store. Check it out if you haven't and see you in a few weeks (or hopefully sooner).