What with all the trailers being released to promote brand new US TV shows in the autumn, it's easy to forget that the UK has some interesting new programming on the way, too. The big summer hope for Sky1 is Sinbad; their adaptation of the Arabian Nights character, in a 12-part series starring newcomer Elliot Knight (below) as the eponymous hero.
In this tale, Sinbad is exiled from his homeland of Basra after the death of his brother, cursed to remain at sea by his grandmother, and becomes part of the crew aboard The Providence. The series also stars Lost's Naveen Andrews, Elliot Cowan (as Norwegian sailor Gunnar), Fringe's Orla Brady, Hotel Rwanda's Sophie Okonedo, Harry Potter's Timothy Spall, Janet Suzman, Marama Corlett (as jewel thief Rina), Estella Daniels (as Nala), Junix Inocian (as the ship's cook), and Dimitri Leonidas (as the ship's doctor).
From the trailer, this looks very promising as a lighthearted family-orientated action-adventure for the weekend. Sky are certainly splashing the cash when it comes to homegrown drama/comedy just lately, and this trailer's location shooting and slick CGI certainly puts the BBC's Merlin in the shade. Unless the characters are fundamentally boring and the stories tedious, it's hard to imagine Sinbad failing this summer.
Sinbad premieres sometime in July on Sunday nights, only on Sky1.
