At TCA earlier this week, Starz announced the first details on the U.S. version of Torchwood.

The network confirmed that the show will be called “Torchwood: The New World”, and will start airing during the Summer of 2011.  It’s a ten part miniseries being written and produced by Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, and is loosely based on the template the pair used in their creation of the Children of Earth miniseries.

The poster you see here was featured prominently at TCA.  As to whether or not Barrowman’s returning for this series, we leave that information in the post-jump write up.  Warning:  If you haven’t watched Children or Earth, stop reading right now.  Past this point, there’s a spoiler about a key plot point in the miniseries.  It also tells you the early details on the storyline for the Starz miniseries.

To answer your questions… yes, Eve Myles and John Barrowman will be returning as Gwen Cooper and Jack Harkness.  Rhys also makes an appearance, and you’ll get to see Gwen’s baby.

The following information was teased about the show.  Tell us what you think… is this going to be the dawn of a new era for the show, or a bad idea altogether?

The new story will follow a CIA agent (Rex) and analyst (Ester) who tackle an alien-related global issue. Torchwood, having been destroyed and disbanded, is “like a legend now … it’s like something that’s ceased to exist and is now spoken of only in whispers.” Soon, Rex and Ester are on the run and are seeking out the help of Captain Jack and Gwen.

“The two teams coming together is a big part of the story — are they friends or enemies? There’s a lot of sparks and excitement.”

“We definitely have a really big story to tell,” added executive producer Julie Gardner. “It’s absolutely rebooted to welcome in a new audience.” ….

The ten episodes will be very fast paced, telling a self-contained story with the miniseries “Children of Earth” being used as a template.

“I’ve always had loose standards and practices,” Davies said. “If the story demands intimacy or savagery, we will go there absolutely … [but] there’s nothing better than a great big global thriller that stops for a sex scene — it’s probably hard to make that happen in a thriller.”