'Doctor Who' programming blitz planned on BBC America

Chris Hardwick will host the TV specials Doctor Who: Live Pre-Show and Doctor Who: After Who Live, BBC America announced.
Hardwick is best known as the host of the Walking Dead-themed talk show The Talking Dead.
The Aug. 23 Doctor Who specials are timed to the iconic science-fiction show's Season 8 premiere. The Hardwick-led programs will feature interviews with an array of guests, including Sherlock writer and actor Mark Gatiss, who has also written for Doctor Who, along with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the show.
"Doctor Who's feature-length season premiere episode, Deep Breath, is a pulse-racing adventure through Victorian London," a synopsis said. "Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Steven Moffat, the episode stars Peter Capaldi as the Doctor, Jenna Coleman as his companion Clara Oswald, Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Catrin Stewart as Jenny Flint and Dan Starkey as Strax."
In the lead-up to Doctor Who's first season with Capaldi playing the title role, BBC America will also air the specials Doctor Who: The Ultimate Companion and The Real History of Science Fiction: Time on Aug. 16, and Doctor Who: The Ultimate Time Lord on Aug. 18.
A Doctor Who marathon will run the week of Aug. 18.