In a press release today:

SYFY’S NEWEST ORIGINAL SERIES SINBAD AND PRIMEVAL: NEW WORLD WILL PREMIERE SATURDAY, JUNE 8

NEW YORK – March 28, 2013 – Building on the success of acquired original series such as Lost Girl and Continuum,Syfy today announced that Sinbad and Primeval: New World will join the prime time schedule beginning Saturday, June 8.

Debuting at 9PM (ET/PT), the 12-episode Sinbad follows the epic sea journey of the flawed hero Sinbad, played by newcomer Elliot Knight, who embarks on a quest to rid himself of a curse and embrace his destiny, as he is forced to flee from his home town of Basra. On board The Providence, an intriguing band of travelers is thrown together, including taciturn Norwegian sailor Gunnar (Elliot Cowan/Marchlands), agile jewel-thief Rina (Marama Corlett/The Devil’s Double), and haughty and aristocratic Nala (Estella Daniels/Thorne). Completing the ship’s complement is the odd-ball cook (Junix Inocian/The 51stState) and the cerebral doctor Anwar (Dimitri Leonidas/Grange Hill).

Sinbad is a British Sky Broadcasting presentation of An Impossible Pictures Production. Producer is Grainne Marmion. Executive producers are Tim Haines, Sophie Gardiner and Andrew Woodhead. The series is distributed by BBC Worldwide.

Following at 10PM (ET/PT) will be Primeval: New World. The 13-episode series will star Niall Matter (Eureka), Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries) and Danny Rahim (Eastenders) as a team of animal experts and scientists investigating paranormal events, while battling both prehistoric and futuristic creatures. Amanda Tapping, who starred in the Syfy series Sanctuary, is on board to direct several episodes.

Based on the original series from Impossible Pictures, Primeval: New World’s creative team is led by executive producers Martin Wood (Sanctuary, Stargate: Atlantis) and Gillian Horvath (Sanctuary, Highlander). The spin-off was created by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens (Star Trek: Enterprise, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World) and written by Gillian Horvath, Peter Hume (Charmed, Flash Gordon), Jon Cooksey (The Collector, The Outer Limits), Sarah Dodd (Flashpoint, Arctic Air), Katherine Collins (Endgame), and Judith and Garfield Reeve-Stevens.

Primeval: New World is produced by Omnifilm Entertainment. Executive producers for Ominfilm are Gabriela Schonbach and Michael Chechik. The series is produced and developed in association with Bell Media, German free-to-air broadcaster ProSieben, and UKTV channel Watch, with the participation of the Canadian Media Fund, The Province of British Columbia Film Incentive BC, The Canadian Film & Video Production Tax Credit Program, and British Columbia Film. Leading independent studio, Entertainment One, holds the international distribution rights.

Source: ©2013 Syfy, a division of NBC Universal. All Rights Reserved.