BC America has released the following press release announcing the schedule for the US broadcast of Being Human. Please note the spoiler warning at the beginning of the episodes synopses if you do not wish to read revealing details about Series 1:

May 26, 2009
SOME ROOMATES ARE SCARIER THAN OTHERS - THE U.S. PREMIERE OF CO-PRODUCTION, BEING HUMAN
Mixing the mythic with the commonplace, the farcical with the horrific and the domestic with the epic, Being Human, a BBC AMERICA co-production, is a witty and extraordinary look into the lives of three twenty-somethings and their secret double-lives – as a werewolf, a vampire and a ghost. Russell Tovey (Doctor Who, The History Boys), Lenora Crichlow (Sugar Rush, Doctor Who) and Aidan Turner (The Clinic) star as housemates trying to live normal lives, despite their strange and dark secrets. Being Human premieres Saturday, July 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

George (Russell Tovey) and Mitchell (Aidan Turner) work in anonymous drudgery as hospital porters. They lead lives of quiet desperation under the burden of a terrible secret—Mitchell’s a vampire and George a werewolf. Deciding to start life afresh and leave behind the dark side, they move into a house, only to find that Annie, the ghost of a woman killed in mysterious circumstances, haunts it. As the monster threesome deals with the challenges of their new life together, they’re united in their desire to blend in with their human neighbors.

By all appearances, George is a mild-mannered and geeky guy - except for one night a month when he’s a flesh-hungry, predatory werewolf. Mitchell is good-looking, laid-back and, unlike George, has an easy confidence with the ladies. But he’s also suffering withdrawal from the blood he craves. Annie (Lenora Crichlow) is chatty, insecure and desperate for company and now that death has separated them, she longs for her fiancé, who owns the house she haunts.

But with unwelcome intruders into their world, a threatened revolution from the vampire underworld and constant threats of exposure – on top of the day-to-day issues faced by young people – the only thing they may be able to rely on in their heightened world, is each other.
WHAT THE BRITISH PRESS SAID

“This is dead good. Even supernatural beings aren't above romantic troubles in the increasingly engaging Bristolian Buffy.” The Sunday Times


“… it’s sharp, dead funny and sexy.” The Guardian

CAST AND PRODUCTION CREDITS

George -Russell Tovey
Mitchell -Aidan Turner
Annie -Lenora Crichlow
Herrick -Jason Watkins
Nina -Sinead Keenan
Lauren -Annabel Scholey
Owen -Greg Chillin

Writer -Toby Whithouse
Producer -Matthew Bouch
Director -Toby Haynes
-Alex Pillai
-Colin Teague
Executive Producers -Rob Pursey (Touchpaper)

Being Human is a Touchpaper Television and BBC AMERICA co-production for the BBC.

EPISODE SYNOPSES
*** SPOILER ALERT***

Episode one
As the series begins, the three friends seem to be having a somewhat normal life. Ghost Annie is buoyed by the fact she’s finally starting to be seen by ordinary people, rather than just by her housemates. Vampire Mitchell has sworn off blood, determined to kick the habit. Even the neurotic and anxious George is in relatively good spirits, putting his monthly transformation into a rampaging werewolf to the back of his mind. But it’s not long before their supernatural conditions catch up with them. The vampire world won’t leave Mitchell alone, and George, who considers the house a sanctuary from his affliction promptly tears his new home to shreds on the first full moon. Annie is heart-broken all over again when their landlord, her fiancé Owen, pays a visit and reminds her of everything that she lost by dying.
Being Human premieres Saturday, July 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode two
George is shocked when he meets another werewolf, Tully (Dean Lennox Kelly, Shameless). Tully is the opposite of George—he’s perfectly content being a werewolf. He wants to teach George how to enjoy himself, but George just can’t accept what he’s become and is disgusted by Tully’s attitude. Unfortunately, Tully’s invited to stay at the house by Mitchell—a failed attempt on his part to embrace the world and be more human. Of course, he soon becomes the housemate from hell.
Episode two premieres Saturday, August 1, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode three
Annie meets another ghost, Gilbert, a Smiths fan who died in the mid-1980s. He loves being a ghost, and let’s Annie know she’s stuck in limbo because there is something unresolved about her death. Meanwhile, a nurse George works with is clearly interested in being more than friends, but he does not think, considering his situation, that he should be in a relationship. But as the full moon gets closer, and George’s animalistic tendencies take hold, he becomes more impulsive—and lusty.
Episode three premieres Saturday, August 8, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode four
Mitchell’s attempts to embrace humanity become even more intense when he befriends a 12-year-old boy, Bernie, and his divorced mom, Fleur, who live in the same street. The relationship reminds him of his own childhood, and what he’s become, and helps him to stay on the wagon. But things turn sour when Bernie is shocked to see a glimpse of Mitchell’s vampire existence. It’s not long before word gets around in the neighborhood, threatening to ruin the housemates’ desire for normality and acceptance. Meanwhile, Annie is traumatized by a shocking revelation about Owen. Her despair turns to anger when she learns Owen will be visiting the house to try and sort out the growing problems with the neighbors. Through her rage she discovers some powerful and uncontrollable skills. When confronted by Owen her fury develops into a lust for revenge.
Episode four premieres Saturday, August 15, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode five
The end of Mitchell’s friendship with Bernie has pushed him back towards the vampire fold.
He learns that the vampires are starting a mass conversion—they will only feed from people who want to be vampires themselves. But the truth is much darker than Mitchell could have ever dreamed. Meanwhile, George is trying to hide his identity from his now-girlfriend, and Annie is crumbling in her attempts to avenge Owen, who still has a firm hold on her emotions.
Episode five premieres Saturday, August 22, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Episode six
Vampire Mitchell is in the hospital following an almost-fatal attack on his doorstep. Mitchell does not want his friends involved in the inevitable showdown with his lethal attackers, but Annie bravely decides that she cannot just stand by without doing anything. But George is faced with a huge dilemma. Should he try to help Mitchell or should he flee and try to start a normal life with his girlfriend? He has to choose between his friend and his lover. He knows Mitchell will need all the help he can get, but the lure of a normal human life is so strong.
Episode six premieres Saturday, August 29, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

CAST INTERVIEWS

MATTHEW BOUCH (PRODUCER) AND TOBY WHITHOUSE (WRITER)

On agreeing that the characters should all be believable, as if they could exist in the real world:
“We had to re-imagine how these supernatural creatures would be if they really did exist. We have very real and human characters with adult dilemmas, placed in a fantasy context,” says Matthew. Toby concurs, “Jason Watkins in the role of Herrick looks incredibly normal and human, but as soon as he starts speaking, he gives across this undercurrent of evil, ambition and cruelty. We wanted to give the vampires a much more convincing and realistic cover story.”

On balancing multiple genres of Being Human:
One of the most appealing things about the show is its unusual cross-genre nature, but this also meant a fine balancing act for the production team. Matthew explains: “Being Human has elements of comedy, horror, soap and supernatural. But what makes it a rich mix also makes it potentially quite tricky as you don’t want to allow any one of those elements to dominate too much. I think with a combination of Toby’s script and the brilliant cast we’ve pulled it off.”

Toby says of his story line, “I like the idea of suggesting that there is some kind of underworld, another life, another story that is going on in the world that we’re unaware of – that’s hidden. I wrote an episode of Doctor Who a couple of years ago that was set in a school. The Monday after it transmitted I heard reports that teachers were walking out to the front of their class and saying, ‘Physics, physics, physics’, which is what the Doctor said. It made the kids wonder if their teachers were really aliens.”

Russell Tovey – George

Russell Tovey plays George, a down-to-earth hospital porter who every full moon transforms into a blood-thirsty werewolf. He explains that there is much more to Being Human than the supernatural element. “There are so many layers to it—it’s not just about a vampire, werewolf and ghost—it’s about three people struggling with life and trying to cope, which everybody can relate to. I would describe it as a kind of This Life/Cold Feet/Buffy.”

When describing George, Russell explains, “He’s a screwed up fellow but he’s also got a heart of gold, he’s a sweetheart and he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. I think people will find him a bit odd but he’s a very endearing, loveable guy. He just wants to be normal, and I suppose a lot of people in life struggle with this if they’re somehow different. They just want to be the norm but the point is; what is the norm?”

George couldn’t be any more different to his laid-back flatmate and best friend Mitchell, but it’s these differences that make the relationship work. “He loves Mitchell to pieces—but he has a problem with him in the fact that Mitchell seems to be sorted and cool and calm and collected, whereas George is this neurotic, slightly camp guy. They have a kind of odd couple relationship.”

His relationship with Annie is slightly more complicated, as Russell explains. “It’s complete Murphy’s Law to George, moving into a house to be normal and then there’s a ghost there. So I think for George his relationship towards Annie is slight resentment and a slight annoyance. He’s always battling against her being around because it doesn’t fit his quota of what he wants to be the norm.”

There was one element of filming that Russell had to get used to… “My clothes get ripped in the transformation, so I’m naked a lot. I’m running through the woods naked and there’s 20 crewmembers watching me—and it’s cold. But once you’ve been filmed naked once it becomes more normal. I filmed one scene and they gave me the option to film it with my clothes on and I just said ‘Let’s do it with the clothes off, eh?”

Lenora Crichlow – Annie

Lenora Crichlow plays insecure ghost Annie, who meets George and Mitchell when they move into the apartment she shared with her fiancé—which she subsequently died in. When she first read the scripts Lenora was intrigued by the idea behind it. “It was pitched to me by my agent as a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire sharing a house, and I thought ‘that’s a bit out there.’”

But the combination of an original story grounded firmly in real life immediately impacted on Lenora. “I thought it was really funny and it was a script with heart. It’s really quirky and light in some places, but it’s got quite a dark undertone. It’s just a really fresh take on dealing with life.”

Lenora believes that the characters are also very appealing, and that everyone will be able to tap into some part of each of them. “All the character’s unusual qualities are grounded in real stuff—addiction, self-esteem, anger, love—all of them are dealing with being human just on a really extreme scale.”

Annie and Mitchell share a very strong relationship, which Lenora describes as almost paternal. “Mitchell is the father figure or older brother of the house, he’s kind of in charge and Annie looks to him to make sure everything’s OK. He gives her a lot of reassurance and she feels safe in his presence. He’s so old, he’s been there, done it all, he seems to be a bit more knowing. He’s there for Annie, he’s her rock.”

On working with Aidan Turner (Mitchell) and Russell Tovey (George), Lenora says, “They’re wicked. I couldn’t ask for two better guys to be working with. We spend time together off set and on set—they’re both brilliant and I love watching their work. I think we really have a lovely chemistry—I’m going to stop gushing now.”

Aidan Turner – Mitchell

Aidan Turner, who plays effortlessly cool vampire Mitchell, says he was hooked on the first reading of the scripts for Being Human. “From the first episode it really works. It’s a great premise, it’s all in the title really—it’s very realistic situations and deals with tons of real issues. It’s dark and witty—Toby is a fantastic writer.”

What also appealed to Aidan was the sense of reality which shone through in the characters and the story. “When tackling a supernatural subject I sometimes find it difficult to invest in the characters because they don’t really exist—but there’s so much heart to this story, so much reality to it, it’s easy to relate to the characters.

“Certainly George, Annie and Mitchell because they are three normal guys, which is evident from the first episode. They’re not flying around putting spells on people—they work in the hospital, live in an apartment together, watch TV and go to clubs. I hope that people watching think, ‘I’d like them to be my friend.’ I think that’s important.”

For Aidan, the fact that Mitchell is a vampire was a big attraction to the role. “Everyone wants to play a vampire—it’s something I’ve always wanted to play. It’s just one of those parts. Also when you research into vampires there are all these cults around the world that are influenced by them one way or another, so that was a really interesting aspect to discover.”

The fact that Mitchell is a vampire, and has therefore been around a long time, makes him a complicated character to play. As Aidan explains, “Mitchell is 118 years old and to play someone like that is brilliant. With his maturity he has a certain kind of responsibility and a worldly experience that not all people have. He’s not bothered by a lot of things—that side of him I aspire to be like.”

Finally, Aidan believes that audiences will relate to Mitchell and his struggle. “Everyone has a dark side that they don’t expose too often – but when they do, you know about it.”

Tags: BBC America, Schedule, Being Human