BBC America Announces May Highlights

-All new U.S. premiere seasons of Gavin and Stacey, Ashes to Ashes and Not Going Out return this spring to BBC AMERICA-

GAVIN AND STACEY SEASON 3 ' U.S. PREMIERE

Multi-award winning hit comedy Gavin & Stacey returns with more heart-warming and hilarious moments in the tangled lives of four young people and their friends and family. Having followed the ups and downs of Gavin (Mathew Horne) and Stacey's (JoAnna Page) marriage and the less overtly romantic relationship between their best friends, Smithy (James Corden) and Nessa (Ruth Jones), audiences are clamoring to find out what is next for their favorite foursome. As Gavin starts his new job, the move to Barry Island means big changes for the whole family. Gavin's parents, Pam and Mick have to adjust to an empty nest while Stacey's mom, Gwen has a full house again. Stacey is in her element, but will this finally be the solution to the couple's long-distance problem? And how will Gavin take to living in Wales? Meanwhile Smithy questions their friendship, along with his own role as a father ' and with Dave Coaches on the scene and now engaged to Nessa, Will Smithy find himself pushed out of the frame? How will life in a caravan work out for Nessa and her soon-to-be husband Dave? Despite the distance between Essex and Wales, there are plenty of opportunities for the English and Welsh families and friends to get together, and share some fun when they do. But as with any extended family, living in different parts of the country, separated by a long bridge and a toll gate, there are always a few unwanted complications and a couple of surprises no one could ever have predicted.

Gavin & Stacey Season Three premieres Friday, May 14, 9:00p.m. ET/PT

ASHES TO ASHES SEASON 2 ' U.S. PREMIERE

BBC AMERICA's Ashes to Ashes, the critically-acclaimed sequel to UK hit Life on Mars, returns with its second season by fast forwarding a year to 1982, where leg warmers are cool, fluorescent is the color of choice, Thatcher is in her element and bullish DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister) is back, policing the streets in his politically incorrect and loud mouthed style. Sassy DI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes) continues her fiery relationship with Hunt and though no nearer to getting back to her daughter, Alex believes she is suspended in time and finally understands how the world around her works. But when she starts hearing news from the future, she realizes nothing is as it seems. Clinging on to fast fading hope, she discovers she may not be alone in her predicament. A mysterious stranger who also seems to be stuck in 1982 is making Alex doubt that her current world is merely a figment of her imagination. Is he a friend who can help her get home or a foe who will destroy all she knows? And while Gene Hunt saved her younger self from the car bomb that killed her parents, can she ever trust him enough to share in her extraordinary scenario? As she struggles to stay alive long enough to find a way home, it appears she needs him more than ever before.

Ashes to Ashes Season Two premieres Tuesday, May 1, 10:00p.m. ET/PT

NOT GOING OUT SEASON 3 ' U.S. PREMIERE

Award-winning comedy, Not Going Out, returns for a third season to BBC AMERICA with new jokes, hilarious antics and general misunderstandings of happy-go-lucky Lee (Lee Mack), his best friend Tim (Tim Vine) and the object of Lee's hapless affections, his landlady and Tim's sister Lucy (Sally Bretton). Season three picks up after Lee successfully sabotaged and ruined Lucy's relationship with her then boyfriend Guy and we find Lee still unburdened by ambition or drive, and with no significant plan to address his feelings for Lucy. However with pregnancies, insurance scams and lesbian neighbors, not to mention having to deal with his good-hearted yet utterly useless cleaner Barbara (Miranda Hart) and Tim's ditzy girlfriend (Katy Wix), it looks like he's got enough to keep his mind off the bigger picture.

Not Going Out premieres Friday, May 14, 9:40p.m. ET/PT

BBC EARTH SUNDAY

Breathtaking natural history programming from BBC EARTH presents an afternoon of incredible specials every Sunday in May.

ANIMALS: INSIDE THE FIGHT FOR LIFE ' BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

This revealing documentary exposes the true cost of staying alive as hunter or hunted. How do predators set up an attack and how does their prey take evasive action? Look inside a tiger's brain as the hungry predator seeks his prey and triggers into action. Other fierce animals such as the Peregrine falcon and blue whale are also featured using their instinctive approaches to hunting.

Animals: Inside the fight for Life airs Sunday, May 2, 6:00p.m. ET/PT

HIDDEN HIGHLANDS ' U.S. PREMIERE

Amid a dramatic landscape, a vast variety of wildlife battling for survival among the challenges of the changing seasons in the Beinn Eighe mountains and its remote haven, Loch Maree. Hidden Highlands takes a look at the extraordinary story of this hidden and mysterious landscape, depicting the reality of life in the wild, and how the fate of both predator and prey are all bound together.

Hidden Highlands premieres Sunday, May 9, 7:00p.m. ET/PT

NATURE: SHAPED BY TIME ' BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

Unlock the restless nature of the Earth to reveal how the world's most famous wonders were formed, from the Grand Canyon to the Sphinx to the Sahara desert. See rivers slice through solid rock, mountains rise and fall, and tiny seas grow into mighty oceans.

Nature: Shaped by Time airs Sunday May 16, 6:00p.m. ET/PT

SECRET WILDERNESS: JAPAN ' U.S. PREMIERE

Beyond the densely populated megacities and futuristic technology of modern Japan lies a vast and little known wilderness. From secluded subtropical islands to snow covered mountains, Japan has many natural secrets to explore. Ten years ago writer, naturalist and explorer Steve Backhall spent a year living and working in Japan, but he never made it out of the city. Now he returns, determined to explore the wilder side of this incredible country. Steve Backhall takes you away to this magnificent secret wilderness filled with adventure, stunning scenery and incredible wildlife encounters Secret Wilderness: Japan premieres May 23, 6:00p.m. ET/PT

JUNGLE: CANOPY ' BBC AMERICA PREMIERE

Imagine being transported to a place with humidity above 90%, with more diseases than anywhere on Earth, and where every breath draws a cloud of insects. Charlotte Uhlenbroek takes up the challenge in this exploration of the world's rainforests. The rainforests of the Amazon, Congo, and Borneo contain half of the world's species of plants and animals. A combination of sheer adventure and the latest technology enables the viewer to experience the planet's most complex terrestial habitat in all its glory.

Jungle: Canopy airs May 30, 6:00p.m. ET/PT

STUNTS

THAT MITCHELL & WEBB LOOK AND PEEP SHOW MARATHON

Need more Sir Digby Chicken Caesar and Ginger or more from dysfunctional roommates Mark and Jeremy? Tune-in as David Mitchell and Robert Webb deliver back-to-back laughs in the That Mitchell & Webb Look and Peep Show marathon featuring new and classic episodes from both shows.

That Mitchell & Webb Look and Peep Show Marathon airs Sunday, May 2, starting at 3:00p.m. ET/PT

ROBIN HOOD MARATHON

Robin Hood and his Merry Men are back trying to stop the Sheriff of Nottingham and his cruel Black Knights from destroying England in this marathon which features action-packed episodes from the first season of Robin Hood.

Robin Hood Marathon airs Sunday, May 9, starting at 3:00p.m. ET/PT

TOP GEAR LAP OF LUXURY

Enjoy a luxurious afternoon of lavish limos to a race on the Riviera, there's no shortage of extravagance in this Top Gear marathon which also features Jeremy Clarkson testing out the innovative features of the Mercedes Benz S class and then takes a shot at designing his own cottage-inspired interior on an older version of the same car.

Top Gear Lap of Luxury airs Sunday, May 16, starting at 3:00p.m. ET/PT

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT SUMMER SLIMATHON

Slim down just in time for summer with Nutritionist Gillian McKeith in this You Are What You Eat marathon. Gillian's unique, brutally honest fashion forces people to confront their bad eating habits, change their ways, and improve their health.

You Are What You Eat Summer Slimathon airs Sunday, May 23, starting at 3:00p.m. ET/PT

WHO-LIDAY WEEKEND TREK

BBC AMERICA presents a full three-day holiday weekend of adventures in space and time travel with Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation. This out-of-this world marathon features Doctor Who's latest adventures with the new Doctor and adventures aboard the USS Enterprise for marathons of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation marathons Saturday, May 29, starting at 8:00p.m. ET/PT, Sunday, May 30, starting at 12:00p.m. ET/PT and all day Monday, May 31.

ONGOING PREMIERES

Other series that will continue to premiere new episodes during May include:

Weekdays: Colin & Justin's Home Heist, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Wednesdays: Peep Show, That Mitchell & Webb Look

Fridays: Friday Night with Jonathan Ross

Saturdays: Doctor Who, The Graham Norton Show

BBC AMERICA brings audiences a new generation of award-winning television featuring news with a uniquely global perspective, provocative dramas, razor-sharp comedies, life-changing makeovers and a whole new world of nonfiction. BBC AMERICA pushes the boundaries to deliver high quality, highly addictive and eminently watchable programming to viewers who demand more. BBC AMERICA is distributed by Discovery Networks. It is available on digital cable and satellite TV in more than 67 million homes.

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