MUMBAI: Action oriented broadcaster AXN will offer viewers more magic with illusionist Cyril along with his entire family.

?Cyril?s Family Vacation: Hawaii Edition? kicks off on 17 June at 8.30 pm. This follows on the heels of ?Simply Cyril?, which had aired on AXN previously.

For the six episode series, which will air every Sunday, Cyril shows viewers his personal side when he takes his ?family? on a much needed vacation. Turns out, the family has a little magic in their DNA? and when combined with charm and wit, a little bit goes a long way.

The sorcerer-in-disguise will infiltrate popular vacation spots and common everyday places in and around Hawaii in order to bring onlookers a magical moment of wonder. Tourists and locals alike will think that there?s nothing out of the ordinary? that they?re just speaking to another friendly vacationer?until something completely unexpected and unexplainable happens.

Maybe the wannabe surfer suddenly begins to defy gravity. Or maybe the nice looking older gentleman on the golf course uses his magic putter to create havoc on
the 17th hole. Or, the unassuming grandmother sneezes a canary from her handkerchief. Whatever the magical instance, the targets are completely unaware that they?re being played; and every moment is captured with both exposed and hidden cameras.

The show is being positioned as being a departure from the traditional street magic series that established Cyril. The show will feature a way of magic storytelling. With one of Japan?s special effects make-up teams at work, each character is brought to life with realism. Set against the scenic beauty of Hawaii, the show is an addictive magical social experiment that tests the limits of what is and is not possible.

To market the show AXN has brought Cyril to India. Cyril will be performing a stunt for his fans in India on the Carter Road Promenade from 5 - 7 pm today. Cyril ?hangs out? with his Indian fans for the very first time.

Cyril?s Family Vacation plays with human reactions - the close up reactions of those experiencing the impossible as well as the reactions of those who witness the magical commotion from far.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television (SPT) has elevated Ricky Ow as executive vice president, Networks-Asia.

Prior to this, Ow was working as senior vice president and general manager, networks, Asia. He was overseeing the company?s channel brands, including AXN India and Animax India.

In his new role, Ow will continue to oversee the networks? business across Asia and will expand his oversight by managing SPT?s two Korean joint ventures, AXN Korea and Animax Korea. He will also be responsible for developing new channel opportunities in the region.

Ow will continue to work closely on these businesses with SPT SVP Networks- Asia. He will report to SPT president of worldwide networks Andy Kaplan.

Kaplan said, "Under Ricky?s leadership, we expanded our brands and our channels are leading entertainment providers in Asia. His understanding of the region, his relationships and his business savvy will be instrumental to our continued growth and success."

Ow had joined SPT in 1999 as the head of sales and marketing for AXN.

SPT channels reach 560 million household in Asia. The portfolio of channels include SET, AXN, BeTV, One and Animax.

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television Networks is rebranding AXN Beyond as beTV across Asia.

Beginning 2 April, the new beTV channel will feature an expanded content line-up and a new on-and-off-air look and feel, with a channel ?personality? to match.

Sony Pictures Television senior VP, GM, Networks, Asia Ricky Ow said, "We have been broadening the appeal of AXN Beyond by introducing a wider range of programming such as Pan Am, Necessary Roughness and A Gifted Man. Renaming the channel to beTV better reflects the broad general entertainment service that it offers. We believe beTV will soon become the new entertainment ?hang-out? for viewers to relax, laugh, catch up with their favourite characters and shows, or just unwind after a long day".

A slate of light entertainment programming will be added including Rob, Rob Schneider?s latest sitcom based loosely on his real-life whirlwind romance and marriage; while reality show ?I Get That A Lot? sets up celebrities like Heidi Klum, Martha Stewart, LeAnn Rimes and Jessica Simpson in everyday jobs such as wait and sales staff, with hidden cameras capturing reactions of unsuspecting customers and passers-by.

Scripted favourites such as ?Everybody Loves Raymond?,

featuring Ray Romano and Touched by an Angel starring Roma Downey and Della Reese, will be familiar additions.

beTV viewers can also continue to enjoy returning seasons of drama series including ?Sherlock? featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, sci-fi themed shows ?Teen Wolf? and ?Supernatural?, comedy dramas ?Chuck? and ?How to be a Gentleman?, along with medical drama ?Grey?s Anatomy?.

beTV will sport a logo and identity in vibrant orange complemented by a set of warm colours to offer an on-air look that is both casual and contemporary. The beTV rebrand will be seen in 15 markets including Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

MUMBAI: Jeeper creeper, Here comes The Reaper. With the onset of the New Year, AXN will kick off the comedy-drama series ?Reaper 2? on 9 January.

The show will air every weekday at 6 pm. The protagonist Sam, a normal guy with a very unusual life as his parents sold his soul to the devil. The Season 2 premieres with Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison) dealing with the idea of Devil being his biological father. The Devil has Sam working a unique night job as a bounty hunter who has to send rebellious bad souls back to hell after physically capturing them.

Sam has a unique bunch of friends with Sock as the wreck who is good at nothing but always stands by Sam and Ben who likes the idea of catching demons for a job. Sam?s job also puts his love angle with Andi in a fix as she cannot deal with his life. The season holds a self discovery path for the regular hero Sam as he tries to wriggle out of the claws of his Devil Father.

MUMBAI: Science fiction show ?Falling Skies? executive produced by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Schindler?s List) and co-created with Oscar nominated screenwriter Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) kicks off on 25 December and will air everyday at 10 pm on AXN.

?Falling Skies? is set in the aftermath of an all-out invasion of Earth by aliens. Set in the chaotic world left completely devastated by the extraterrestrial attack, Falling Skies picks up six months into the alien occupation where the few survivors have come together outside what is left of key cities in an attempt to fight back.

Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers scavenge for supplies, protect the people in their care, and embark on a guerrilla campaign against the enigmatic and deadly alien force. Humans live in the hope of taking back their home one day and rebuilding their lives.

Falling Skies stars Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominee Noah Wyle (E.R.) as Tom Mason, a Boston history professor whose wife was killed in the invasion and the second of his three sons was captured by aliens. Determined to rescue his son and safeguard his two other boys, Tom must put his extensive knowledge of military history and strategies to the test as the second-in-command of ?2nd Mass?, a resistance force named after their base in Boston, Massachusetts. However, Tom?s lack of battlefield experience leaves him at odds with his commander, the no-nonsense, formerly retired military captain Weaver (Will Patton, Armageddon).

Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) co-stars as Anne Glass, a pediatrician helping children among the survivors cope with the traumatic upheaval. Anne lost her only son and husband during the invasion. Yet to face up to her loss, Anne is pouring herself into work for 2nd Mass. The tragedy she shares with Tom pulls them close in a unique relationship.

Tom?s eldest son, Hal (Drew Roy, Secretariat), has to grow up overnight to fight alongside his father, while youngest child Matt, (Maxim Knight, Brothers & Sisters) remains deeply traumatized from the experience.

Mighty, mysterious and merciless, the extraterrestrial conquerors are highly intelligent and are able to fight using military-like tactics. Combining live-action and visual effects, aliens named ?Skitters? are six-legged spider-like monsters with incredible strength and agility. Bipedal, robotic ?Mechs? walk upright and fire deadly projectiles from their arms. The ?Skitters? and ?Mechs? serve even more powerful extraterrestrials that will be unveiled in the series. Captive children such as Tom?s son, Ben (Connor Jessup, The Saddle Club), are controlled through bio-mechanical harnesses fused to their spines which change them to their very core?

AXN Networks India VP Rohit Bhandari said, "Sci-fi as a genre has generated a lot of interest among the Indian viewers lately. With high production values and an epic story line, viewers would watch the show and immediately see Spielberg?s influence. With Falling Skies premiering on AXN, I am confident that our viewers will be treated to a situation so well captured, that every episode will be followed with great anticipation and enthusiasm."

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television has announced that the AXN will air the series ?The Firm? from 19 February 2012.

It is based on John Grisham?s novel of the same name. Recalling the 1993 movie adaptation of the novel starring Tom Cruise, this new TV series aims to capture the same sequence of drama.

Continuing with the plot from the movie, Mitch McDeere and his family emerge after 10 years in the Federal Witness Protection Program, with a goal to reclaim their lives and future. But they have never expected that the same danger they faced 10 years ago would still haunt them to this date.

Josh Lucas takes over the lead role from Cruise as Mitch McDeere. The other cast members include Juliette Lewis. Grisham and Lukas Reiter both serve as executive producers.