A couple of new trailers have been released for two new pay cable drama series.  Showtime has unveiled an extended look at its new series Ray Donovan, which stars Liev Schreiber as a “fixer” for the rich and famous in Los Angeles whose life is complicated when his powerful father—whom he may or may not have framed—is unexpectedly released from prison.  Despite the bland title, the show actually looks like a fairly interesting character drama with a pair of strong performances by Schreiber and Jon Voight.  The series premieres on Showtime on Sunday, June 30th.

Additionally, Starz has unveiled a new look at its period series Da Vinci’s Demons.  From executive producer David S. Goyer (Batman Begins), the show stars Tom Riley as the titular artist/inventor/swordsman/idealist living in Renaissance Florence, struggling to exist within the confines of his own reality and time as he begins to not only see the future, but invent it.  The series premieres on Starz on Friday, April 12th.  Hit the jump to watch the trailers for Ray Donovan and Da Vinci’s Demons.

Showtime has announced the premiere dates for its 2013 original series.  Here’s a brief look at the schedule:

• Shameless – Season three premieres January 13th.
• Californication – Season six premieres January 13th.
• Inside Comedy – Season two premieres February 11th.
• Nurse Jackie – Season five premieres April 14th.
• The Borgias – Season three premieres April 14th.
• The Big C – The final season premieres April 29th.
• Dexter – Season eight premieres June 30th.
• Ray Donovan – Series premiere June 30th.
• Homeland – Season three premieres September 29th.
• Masters of Sex – Series premiere September 29th.

Hit the jump for more details on all of the aforementioned series.

Showtime has released a one-two combo of images and trailers for their upcoming debut shows Masters of Sex and Ray Donovan. Starring Lizzy Kaplan and Michael Sheen as real-life pioneers of the study of human sexuality, Masters of Sex follows the lives of Virginia Johnson and William Masters as their work sparks the sexual revolution and catapults them into fame.

Ray Donovan stars Liev Schreiber in the title role as a problem-solver for the rich, famous and powerful in Los Angeles. When his father (Jon Voight) is unexpectedly released from prison, he and his family find themselves in the cross-hairs. Hit the jump to check out the new images and trailers for both Showtime series.

The other day we premiered the trailer and first images from Universal’s Werewolf: The Beast Among Us.  Directed by Louis Morneau (Joy Ride II, Hitcher II: I’ve Been Waiting) and starring Stephen Rea, Steven Bauer, Ed Quinn, Nia Peeples, Guy Wilson, Adam Croasdell and Rachel DiPillo, Werewolf: The Beast Among Us was filmed on location in Romania and Transylvania last year.  With Universal celebrating its 100th Anniversary, Werewolf is the start of a new chapter of horror in their home video department.

The other night at the Saturn Awards I got to speak with Steven Bauer on the red carpet.  We talked about making Werewolf: The Beast Among Us and who he plays, his upcoming Showtime series Ray Donovan (which also stars Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight), and his other projects like The Truth and Last I Heard.  Hit the jump to watch.

Showtime already has a fine line-up of programming with Dexter, Shameless and The Borgias holding strong, not to mention freshman series Homeland snagging some great awards nominations recently, but that line-up is looking to beef up a bit with the addition of two new series to the pay cable channel. Showtime has just announced a series pick-up for both Ray Donovan, featuring Liev Schreiber in his first series regular role, and Masters of Sex, featuring the spectacular Michael Sheen and the stunning Lizzy Caplan. The two series couldn’t be more different. Details on each after the jump!

Showtime greenlit the pilot for the new drama series Ray Donovan back in August, and now a lead actor has been found. Deadline reports Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Salt) will lead the potential new series from Southland creator and executive producer Ann Biderman and Mark Gordon. Schreiber is indeed playing the titular role in a show that will focus on Ray (Schreiber), a professional “fixer” for LA’s rich and famous, the go-to guy in Hollywood who deftly solves the highly confidential problems of the city’s most intriguing personalities and yet he can’t quite escape the damage in his own troubled family. This is Schreiber’s first series regular role on TV besdies doing a four-episode arc on CSI way back in 2007. Of course, the actor has previously been nominated for an Emmy after his fantastic turn as Orson Welles in the TV movie RKO 281. Schreiber is truly an underrated talent, so I’m interested to see him lead his own series on cable.

More new series are already heading into development even though the new fall season is still about a month away. This time it’s Showtime that has picked up a few new projects as THR reports the cable network has lined up three new pilots. The first is a half-hour docu-comedy called Gurland on Gurland from The Last Exorcism writer Andrew Gurland who will also direct and star in the series which chronicles his own life and focuses on the challenges associated with entering the next phase of his career. I’m not sure if this will be more like a mockumentary style show on the inside of show business, but it sounds interesting at least.

Details on the other two new pilots Showtime has greenlit after the jump.