HD Heads-Up: September 1

Prime reboots English Premiere League … Expect even stranger Things … 

Great news for free-to-air soccer fans: this month Prime will start broadcasting English Premier League matches. Coverage will kick off 11.30 on September 12, with Swansea vs Chelsea at Liberty Stadium. Prime will play a featured game every Monday night and a weekly highlights package on Saturday afternoons. Live EPL coverage will be limited to Sky’s new beIN sports channels …

Apologies to American Crime fans: I jumped the gun on speculating season two would replace Wicked City at 11pm on Mondays from September 12. Turns out TV One has opted to repeat Criminal Minds in that slot instead. Why a series this outstanding has a lower priority than bilge like Wicked City and Criminal Minds is inexplicable. Season two has been nominated for four Emmy Awards, including best television limited series or movie made for TV, and stars Felicity Huffman and Regina King again have been nominated for their performances (King won last year) …

Stranger Things executive producer Shawn Levy tells The Hollywood Reporters the focus of season two will be on expanding the world created in season one while staying true to the characters. “There’s no question that the scale of Stranger Things season two is an escalation, but it is very loyal to the tone and to the heart of the show people love.” He says there will be “a handful of really compelling new characters” and “we are definitely digging into the questions left hanging at the end of episode eight” …

Game of Thrones has cast veteran British actor Jim Broadbent in what will  be a “significant” season seven role, Entertainment Weekly reports. “That’s where our news stops and your speculation begins.” The magazine points out Broadbent marks the latest actor to shift from the wizarding world of Harry Potter over to Westeros (and Essos) – Natalia Tena played Tonks in the films as well as Osha in the HBO series; David Bradley played Filch and Walder Frey; Ciarán Hinds played Aberforth Dumbledore (Albus’ brother) and Mance Rayder, among other examples …

The Anna Friel crime drama, Marcella, has been renewed for a second series. It will air first on Britain’s ITV next year before streaming globally in 4K on Netflix. The first series averaged 6.8 million viewers and a 25 share on ITV, making it one of the network’s top-rated dramas this year …

And Netflix has ordered its first talk show, Bill Nye Saves the World. US TV’s Science Guy, who’s probably best known here for guest starring opposite Bob Newhart’s Professor Proton on The Big Bang Theory, will tackle topics from a scientific point of view, debunking myths and dinging anti-scientific claims espoused by politicians, religious leaders and/or titans of industry, Deadline Hollywood reports …