Big news for Doctor Who and Torchwood fans today, as Starz USA announced that the fourth series of Torchwood will launch its premiere episode on Friday, July 8, 2011 at 10pm ET/PT. Starz has also released some new poster artwork for the new series, which you can view here at right. Entitled Torchwood: Miracle Day, the series originally from the BBC, will feature the return of John Barrowman and Eve Myles who will be reprising their roles as Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper respectively.

New to the world of Torchwood are Mekhi Phifer, Bill Pullman, Lauren Ambrose, Alexa Havins, and Arlene Tur. Phifer is said to have a major role in Miracle Day, portraying Rex Matheson, a CIA agent investigating a global conspiracy behind what could be a serious threat to humanity.

The official announcement from Starz elaborates on the plot of Miracle Day:

Bill Pullman, who portrays Oswald Danes, a former school teacher and convicted child killer, and Phifer, join “Torchwood” alumni John Barrowman (Capt. Jack Harkness) and Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper) in the series. Also joining the cast are Alexa Havins (When in Rome, Fat Girls) as Esther Drummond, a deskbound CIA employee who dreams of active duty and who suddenly finds herself running alongside Jack, Gwen and Rex; and Arlene Tur (“Crash,” Eat Pray Love) as Dr. Vera Juarez, a Washington D.C. surgeon, who finds herself on the frontline of medical care on “Miracle Day” advising the government think-tanks on the best course of action for the world’s population.

Torchwood begins with a day when nobody dies. All across the world, nobody dies. And then the next day, and the next, and the next, people keep aging, they get hurt and sick, but they never die. The result: a population boom, overnight. With all the extra people, resources are finite. It’s said that in four month’s time, the human race will cease to be viable. But this can’t be a natural event – someone’s got to be behind it. It’s a race against time as C.I.A. agent Rex Matheson investigates a global conspiracy. The answers lie within an old, secret British institute. As Rex keeps asking “What is Torchwood?” he’s drawn into a world of adventure, and a threat to change what it means to be human, forever.

2011 is certainly a big year for fans of the Doctor Who universe. The first part of Doctor Who Series 6 begins April 23, and should conclude around June 4. After just a four-week break from that, Torchwood: Miracle Day will premiere on July 8, with 10 episodes in the series. During Autumn/Fall, the second part of Doctor Who Series 6 will pick up where it left off in June; and then the next season of the Sarah Jane Adventures should follow shortly thereafter.

With that being said, as of the time of this writing, we have 31 days until Doctor Who, and a little over 100 until Torchwood. Here’s hoping that time flies by quickly!

[Source: Starz]