Warning: This article may contain spoilers.

Gwen Cooper

All Gwen wants is a quiet life. Honest.

She’s Welsh, lives in seclusion, far away from the city, on a cliff top in the wilds of South Wales with her devoted husband, and baby Anwen – it’s a rural idyll.

And it’s a lie. Gwen is in hiding, because she once lived the most extraordinary life. She was the heart and soul of an organization called Torchwood, a freelance band of fighters who fought the strange and unexplained. She was a defender of the human race.

But no more. Torchwood was destroyed. Her colleagues died, or fled. And Gwen hid herself away, for the rest of her life, to protect her loved ones. But knowing, just knowing, that one day trouble would come calling again.

She lives the ultimate double life: the funny, salty, earthy woman who loves home and family, combined with the tough, ruthless warrior, who loves the thrill of the fight. She’s both selfish and selfless. And never doubt it – when Gwen’s in a crisis, she is magnificent. Gun in both hands, baby strapped to her chest, she’ll run and fight and never give up.

It’s passion, in the end: Gwen’s all about passion. She loves her man, she loves her child, she loves this mad old world, and maybe she loves Captain Jack Harkness just a little too much. But when the events of this story push Gwen to the limit, she’ll need to call on resources she never knew she had, to take action and make the most terrible decisions, on behalf of all mankind.

Captain Jack Harkness

Jack looks like a hero. But he’s so much more than that…

He’s American, handsome, with a killer smile and a classic coat. But you don’t expect heroes to be this much fun. He’s witty, fast, subversive and there’s a reason for that glint in his eye – he’ll sleep with women, he’ll sleep with men; if aliens invade, he’ll sleep with them too. Got a problem with that? Tough!

His dashing style hides a secret. There are mysteries about Jack – a man going under his name seems to have a history stretching back to World War 2, or even earlier, to the Nineteenth century, the Eighteenth…

Truth is, Jack Harkness is immortal. A fixed point in time and space. The only one of his kind. For thousands of years, he has never been able to die. When killed, he comes back to life – seconds later. Though his tragedy is, he feels every death. It hurts – and so does the passage of time. He can never love anyone for too long, because he will always lose them. As a result, he’s lived many lives. He’s been a conman, a thief, an adventurer – though more a rogue than a villain, because his perspective on human life makes him appreciate this world all the more.

Jack once ran the Torchwood Institute, a British organization dedicated to fighting the strange and bizarre. He was king of his own little world for a while, the happiest he’d ever been. But Torchwood fell. His friends were killed. The Institute closed down, and Jack disappeared, to start yet another of his many new lives. And yet…

The only thing that could call Jack Harkness back is his unstated love for Gwen Cooper. And when a new, epic danger affects the whole planet, Jack finds himself back at the center of events, fighting not just for his own life, but for everyone on Earth. But this time, are the stakes too high?

Rex Matheson

He’s 28, the golden boy. Has been, all his life. Harvard education, fast-tracker in the C.I.A., destined for success. Though he’s never taken it easy – Rex hustles, seduces and campaigns to get where he is today. He can talk his way into anything, then charm his way out, fast. He’s made a lot of enemies, but his friends and lovers would defend him to death.

His choice of career is significant. Someone like Rex could make a fortune in Wall Street, or Hollywood. But choosing the C.I.A. says a lot about him: that for all his swagger, he does believe in justice. And will fight for it.

Slowly but surely, we see him make friends. He’s thrown together with a bunch of people known as Torchwood, the only people who might have the answer to a global mystery. To Rex, at first, they’re a bunch of freaks. Welsh women and World War 2 Captains, what’s that about?! But as they race from one crisis to another, dodging assassins, blackmail, corruption and conspiracy, from Washington to Wales and the slums of Shanghai, Rex forges friendships in the heat of fire. He learns to trust his new colleagues. And they realize that this dangerous, dazzling, reckless man is the best friend they could ever have, in a world going to hell.

They frighten us, men like Rex. We wish we were him; we never will be.

John Barrowman, Eve Myles and Kai Owen will be reprising their respective roles of Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams for the 10-part story, which begins filming in January and will air in the summer of 2011 on BBC One and Starz.

More details have emerged about the fourth series of sci-fi drama Torchwood.

Starz has announced that The New World will follow CIA agent Rex Matheson as he “investigates a global conspiracy [and] finds himself unearthing a threat which challenges the entire human race”.

Rex is described as a Harvard-educated “golden boy” who is “dangerous, dazzling [and] reckless”.

The new ten-part series of the Doctor Who spinoff will also see the return of regular Torchwood characters Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) and Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles).

Read the rest of the article here. Be warned that it has additional spoilers.

ZAP 2 it did an interview with Torchwood creator Russell T. Davies and he reveals more information on the story and new characters for the next series.

“Torchwood: The New World” isn’t a John Smith-Pocahontas homage, but does set a significant amount of storytelling in the U.S. In fact, the show will visit many shores beyond Cardiff.

“It has this global sweep to it which is justified by the story,” creator Russell T. Davies says Saturday (Aug. 7) during the final day of summer press tour. “I hate to say ‘international in scope’ because it usually means a scene set in Berlin for no reason.”

Davies hadn’t automatically planned to continue “Torchwood,” but then changed his mind after “Children of Earth” aired.

“[It] got phenomenal figures in Britain and did beautifully over here on BBC America,” he says. “There was just a buzz about it. ‘Children of Earth’ was a new form of ‘Torchwood’ and something clicked. It just inspired me. The story of the new ‘Torchwood’ is something that’s been ticking away in the back of my head for a long while.”

For those of you that are worried about the next series of Torchwood losing its Welsh roots, here’s some good news from executive producer Julie Gardner:

“The Welsh setting still features in a really significant way as we move forwards so when we start filming in January, we will start filming in Wales,” confirms executive producer Julie Gardner. “There will be beautiful landscapes. Gwen Cooper is still that character. She’s still Welsh. Her story will take place in the U.S. but also very much in the UK, so that flavor of Wales will be very apparent.”

Read entire article

Davies, who created the “Doctor Who” spinoff, will of course write several episodes of the 10-part series, but other writers for Season 4 include John Shiban (“Breaking Bad,” “Supernatural,” “The X-Files”), Doris Egan (“House,” “Tru Calling,” “Dark Angel’), Jane Espenson (“Game of Thrones,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Buffy”) and John Fay (a U.K. “Torchwood” writer).

The writers are currently hard at work on the new season of the show, which tells an international story and feature the kind of serialized, overarching story line featured in “Torchwood: Children of Earth,” the miniseries that put the cult sci-fi series on the map when BBC America aired it in 2009.

Read entire article

In case you forgot, here’s a quick refresher from the press release, which we reported on back in June.

‘Captain Jack and the Selkie’ is one of two original Torchwood stories in issue #1 and sees Jack facing a deadly threat on a remote Scottish island, where people are disappearing one by one. To his horror, Jack starts to suspect he may know who, or rather what, is responsible.

Barrowman is overjoyed to have worked with Edwards, who he describes as one of his favorite artists. The pair began their collaboration when Barrowman and his sister Carole came across a poster of Captain Jack at the 2008 San Diego Comic Con.

“Tommy and Trevor had drawn a brilliant poster of my face super-imposed over the Face of Boe, which I think is the best piece of Captain Jack art I’ve seen,” said Barrowman. “The four of us hit it off immediately and I asked if they’d ever be interested in working with us on a Captain Jack project. They thought about it for, oh, about 30 seconds, and so ‘Captain Jack and the Selkie’ was born!”

Titan Magazines has just released a short, but sweet looking trailer for the comic.

This new comic should tide us Torchwood fans over until we see some story leaks and other assorted goodness from the next series.

To top off this great announcement, a new cover of the upcoming comic has been finalized and it features a slightly different background graphic.

Torchwood Comic issue #1 goes on sale August 10, 2010 and is available from all good retailers and specialist comic stores.

He told SFX that the new series length was perfect for the storyline he had planned for the upcoming fourth series.

“It’s not a Lost-type story, full of mystery, and it’s not particularly complicated – it’s more linear,” he said. “Ten parts just gives us a chance to move it on to the international stage where it takes place.”

The writer promised that the new episodes will take place on a wider scale than previous series.

“The vast majority’s going to take place in America – and other countries as well – so it’s got a size to it. It’s a proper, big, global ten-hour thriller.”

Read the entire article at Digital Spy

Here are just a few snippets from this interview.

So, did you always know you’d be doing more Torchwood?

“Well it was always possible. I remember when Children Of Earth launched, you always get asked, ‘Is this is the end or will it continue?’ and there’s no true answer to that because you’re always in a state of suspension – if it ends, it ends and if it carries on, it carries on. It’s too soon to give away the story, but I’ve always had this story in mind, and the whole existence of season four will make sense once you know what the story is. I’d already moved out here, and it’d sort of been half in development, and then once those viewing figures came in it went into proper development. Actually, Jane Tranter [head of BBC Worldwide's American arm] planned this more than I ever did. For many years she was going to move out here and do this job, and she’s always wanted dramas that could move onto that sort of scale and be funded in this way, so it all fitted with her plan really – it all just sort of naturally fell into place. And if no-one had ever bought it I’d now be telling you it was naturally dead!”

Children Of Earth went to some very dark places…

“Do you think?! Actually, this story is also very dark.  I think with that, Torchwood found its feet. People found something very compelling and very chilling about it. I love the way people got on their high horse saying, ‘Oh, he killed his grandson!’ Hello! He saved every single child in the world! If you would fail to do that then you’re the monster, frankly. It’s this extraordinary treatment that only science fiction heroes get You find that. If ever a word is said out of place by the Doctor or Captain Jack, or even by Sarah Jane sometimes,  people throw their hands up in horror, whereas in any other drama any character is capable of any thing at any time. That’s the only way to write, and it’s the same for these people as well.  I thought it was fascinating and challenging what he did there, but hard – it was so hard. I do think with the whole of Children Of Earth we found a new heartland for Torchwood.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

More information on the the next series of Torchwood can be found in SFX Magazine issue #199. It’s on sale from Wednesday 28 July.

As previously reported, this season will take the Torchwood team out of Cardiff, Wales, and instead send them into an international playing field. Both stars — the only survivors from the first three seasons –- have signed on for the 10-episode season, and a search is now underway to attract talent from both sides of the Atlantic.

Among those being sought after is a leading CIA agent that the team will interact with during their jet-setting, an analyst and a sinister new villain.

“Rex Matheson is a white, 20-something CIA agent who sounds sort of like FX’s animated ‘Archer’ spy: a fearless, cocky thrill seeker,” TV Guide revealed. “Recurring characters include Esther Katusi, a newbie Watch Analyst in the CIA who is deeply (and secretly) in love with Rex. And Oswald Jones is the dangerous psychotic villain. He’s a 40-something murderer and pedophile who gets sprung from the slammer into the spotlight.”

News that the series will return for a 10-part season also will please fans who were left slightly disappointed when the series dispelled its usual 13-episode format for a five-part miniseries last year. However, “Children of Earth” –- which ran over five consecutive days as a television event -– was a ratings success for the BBC, and brought in an audience in excess of 6 million.

In addition, “Torchwood” also has attracted BBC America’s best audience when more than a half-million viewers tuned in to see Capt. Jack Harkness in 2007 (nearly 300,000 of which were from the key audience demographic of adults 25 to 54).

Now the show will make an American debut on the premium cable channel Starz! after Fox passed on doing a continuation series of its own.

Source: Airlock Alpha

The 31-year-old will be starring in the American version of the hit sci-fi show and will be jetting off at the end of the year with partner Brad and baby daughter Matilda.

And she’s even got her beloved dog Honeysuckle a passport – so she can go too.

Eve, who gave birth to Matilda last November, is looking forward to the big move, after it was announced that Torchwood would be moving Stateside for a new series to be aired in 2011.

The Ystradgynlais actress, who now lives in Cardiff, said: “I’ve been enjoying some really lovely times with Matilda.

“She’s seven months old and is just adorable. She is sleeping right through the night and she is just fantastic. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Since she came along I’ve woken up every day with a smile on my face. She is just so lovely and pleasant, she is always laughing and I’ve been relishing every minute.

“Nothing I’ve ever done before comes close to how it feels to have Matilda. She is so beautiful, a carbon copy of her daddy with the same turquoise eyes. But I’m pleased to say it looks as if she’s got my famous gap, so that’s good news.”

And now Eve is preparing for an even busier few months.

Eve Myles in Torchwood: Children of Earth

She said: “Things are starting to pick up again work-wise. I’m about to sign for a BBC Wales TV remake of The Fabulous Baker Boys and I’ve got another film in Bulgaria and then we start shooting the new Torchwood in January.

“Matilda and Brad are coming with me but I couldn’t possibly not take Honey too as we are going to be there for seven-and-a-half months.

“So it’s all sorted. She’s got a new passport and we are raring to go.”

But Eve, who plays feisty Gwen Cooper in the show, admits she’s very nervous about upping sticks, even though she will be starring alongside her good friend John Barrowman.

She said: “To be honest, I am quite nervous and apprehensive but then I still get nervous every time I start a new job and then as soon as I’ve filmed the first day I calm down a bit.

“We’re not sure yet whether we are going to be living in Los Angeles or Canada but Torchwood is already very popular in America and I had no idea exactly how big it was until I was in Washington DC and I saw myself on the back of a bus. Weird. It’s got an absolutely massive fan base, it’s been the number one sci-fi show for the past three years out there.

“I haven’t managed to see John much but we get on so well that as soon as we start working it will be like we’ve been together for weeks.”

Eve has been with fellow actor Bradley Freegard for several years and, despite wearing an eternity ring on her wedding finger, she said she had not married Brad yet – but promises she will do one day in the future.

She said: “I was pictured with the ring on my wedding finger but it’s not a wedding ring. It’s the eternity ring Brad bought for my 30th birthday.

“I will marry him one day. It’s something we’ve talked about but, at the moment, we’re too busy. Maybe we’ll wait until there are a few Myles-Freegards running around the place.”

Source: Wales Online

Here’s the video clip of that interview, but after watching it you’ll learn very little of the next series of Torchwood. Apparently RTD doesn’t want to spoil us this early in the development cycle.

Torchwood Series 4 is set to air in the summer of 2011 and, according to the Torchwood Wikipedia page, both John Barrowman and Eve Myles are set to return to play their recurring roles. The new series has been brought down from the reported 13 episodes to just 10, and the storylines will take place in different  locations around the world.

I’m really glad that RTD and his crew got a major U.S. cable TV network to help get the next series of Torchwood off the ground. Fans were getting worried that there may not be another series, so this should end all of the speculation that’s been going around the web.

Now we can all sleep better at night. : )