There’s been a lot of controversy and fan speculation about the Americanification of BBC’s Doctor Who spinoff, Torchwood, as its fourth season moves from Cardiff to North America. The move comes as Starz joins BBC to co-produce the new season, which begins production in January. Although the production company and locale might be taking the popular show into uncertain waters, the Chicago Tribune reports that the new writing staff is anything but shaky. This fourth season of Torchwood is still helmed by longtime Who boss Russell T. Davies, who will be writing several of the new episodes. The rest of the staff now includes some luminaries from other fan favorite TV shows such as Jane Espenson (Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica), John Shiban (Breaking Bad, The X-Files), and Doris Egan (House, Smallville).
The fourth season of Torchwood will run for 10 episodes, beginning in summer 2011, airing concurrently on Starz and BBC One.
