From the Sci-fi Channel Press packet:
Series Synopsis:
Think you understand how the world works? Get schooled with The Dresden Files, a supernatural detective series based on the best-selling novels of Jim Butcher.
The Dresden Files tells the story of Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), a regular guy with an irregular life — he's a wizard, a practitioner of magic who uses his unique abilities to solve the cases that come through his Chicago storefront office; call it the next evolution in forensics.
Harry lives in the same work-a-day world we live in, but he can also operate in the world of the supernatural, the metaphysical, and the unexplainable. Dresden unravels otherworldly schemes and crimes and does battle with the forces of darkness, all while keeping his true activities veiled from Lt. Connie Murphy (Valerie Cruz) of the Chicago Police Department.
The governing body that supervises wizards is called the High Council. The Council enforces the rules and makes certain that nobody in the mundane world ever knows what's going on in the supernatural world. In Chicago, the Council's Warden is Morgan (Conrad Coates). Morgan is Harry's probation officer. Three years ago Harry used black magic to kill his uncle Justin Morningway. The Council ruled that Harry did it in self-defense, but Morgan suspects otherwise. He would be only too happy to catch Harry in another transgression.
Dresden's confidante and adviser on all things magical is Bob (Terrence Mann). Bob was a medieval wizard who took up the dark arts but went too far. He was caught and killed by the Wardens, who then bound his soul into eternal servitude as punishment. Bob haunts Harry's apartment, hoping for a chance to regain his corporeal self — or at least get out for a walk in the park once in a while.
Through it all, Harry Dresden retains his wry, sardonic view of both the natural and supernatural worlds. If you ever need his special kind of detective skills, you can find him listed in the phone book. For $500 a day, with a two-day minimum, he'll take your case and bring it to a successful conclusion.
Just don't ask him how he does it.
S1E01 "Birds of a Feather"
PREMIERES SUNDAY JANUARY 21 AT 9/8C
Logline
A 10-year-old boy comes to Dresden claiming that monsters are after him. Dresden dismisses the boy's fears — until he belatedly realizes the kid is right.
Synopsis
When Scott Sharp, a frightened 10-year-old boy, begs Dresden to protect him and his mother from "monsters" that are lurking in their home, Harry at first dismisses the boy's fears as the product of an overactive imagination. But when Scott is subsequently kidnapped by sinister beings, Dresden realizes that the boy is an innocent pawn in the supernatural contest between good and evil.
The case triggers memories of Dresden's own childhood, when young Harry lived with his father, Colm, who performed low-rent stage magic in community theaters and children's parties. When Harry was Scott's age, his talent for real magic began to emerge — a fact that caught the eye of his uncle, Justin Morningway, the brother of young Harry's murdered mother.
Harry's uncle wanted to take him away so that he could hone the boy's talents to serve Morningway's own malevolent ambitions. Just as Colm had to protect young Harry from his uncle Morningway, so Dresden must now rescue Scott from those seeking to exploit him for their own nefarious purposes.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Young Harry
MATTHEW KNIGHT
Colm Dresden
JONATHAN HIGGINS
Scott Sharp
DYLAN EVERETT
Sheryl Sharp
MARIE WARD
Melissa Perrini
HEATHER HANSON
Ms. Timmons
DEBORAH ODELL
Raven Man
EARL PASTKO
Justin Morningway
DANIEL KASH
Laura Ellis
NATALIE LISINSKA
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
PETER EGAN
Directed by
MICHAEL ROBISON
S1 E02 "The Boone Identity"
PREMIERES SUNDAY JANUARY 28 AT 9/8C
Logline
The ghost of a murdered girl can't rest until justice is brought to her killer — unfortunately, he's already dead.
Synopsis
A grieving father seeks Dresden's help to exorcise the ghost of his murdered daughter, Lisa. When Dresden attempts to cleanse the restless spirit, he's forced to look into the circumstances surrounding her death.
Lt. Murphy insists that the case is closed: the killer, Gus Boone, died only a few hours after Lisa's murder, during a botched carjacking attempt. The intended victim of the carjacking — Edward Miller, a wealthy young stockbroker — fought back and killed Boone with his own shotgun.
As Dresden investigates further, he suspects that Miller and Boone were actually accomplices in the robbery that led to Lisa's untimely death. The stolen item? An Egyptian stone tablet that holds an ancient secret: a key to eternal life.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Charles Harding
C. DAVID JOHNSON
Boone
KEVIN RUSHTON
Lisa Harding
KALEIGH NEVIN
Joseph Miller
TOM BARNETT
Lucas Sabin
DOMENIC CUZZOCREA
Marie
JUDY MARSHAK
Joshua Bergen
JOHN ROBINSON
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
GEORGE MASTRAS
Directed by
JIM CONTNER
S1 E03 "Hair of the Dog"
PREMIERES SUNDAY FEBRUARY 11 AT 9/8C
Logline
When Lt. Murphy asks Dresden to help her investigate a series of ritualistic slayings, he discovers that werewolves are involved. But the werewolves aren't the killers — they're the victims.
Synopsis
Murphy brings Dresden to a Chicago park, where the latest in a series of bizarre killings has taken place. A young woman is dead, her hair shorn and her canine teeth pulled out.
Dresden's investigation reveals that the victim was a werewolf, and that she was killed by a lethal dose of silver iodide administered via an aerosol inhalant. It appears that the werewolf chased someone into the park, but the lycanthrope's intended victim turned the tables and killed her with the silver iodide, then harvested the beast's hair and teeth. But why?
Meanwhile, Lt. Murphy finds herself forced off the case by an aggressive FBI agent who has been tracking the serial killer across the United States. But Dresden realizes that this is merely the agent's cover story; she's not tracking the killer — she's the mastermind of this monstrous plot.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Zachary Bushnell
CONSTANTINE ALEX KARZIS
Joya
KYRA HARPER
Heather Bram
KATHLEEN MUNROE
Mina
IPSITA PAUL
Waldo Butters
MATT GORDON
Kelly Raskin
KRISTA BRIDGES
FBI Agent
DERWIN PHILLIPS
Puppeteer
JAMES RANKIN
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
LAURENCE WALSH
Directed by
MICHAEL NANKIN
S1 E04 "Rules of Engagement"
PREMIERES SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18 AT 9/8C
Logline
Dresden tries to help a beautiful young woman whose fiance is struggling to sever his ties to some unrelenting demonic forces.
Synopsis
Dresden is hired by a beautiful young woman, who asks him to recover twenty thousand dollars that has been stolen from her Aunt Frieda.
When Dresden locates the thief, he discovers that the man has been burnt to a crisp by a deadly supernatural force. He investigates the man's death and discovers that his beautiful client lied to him about the money, about Aunt Frieda — in fact, about everything.
Dresden confronts his client with what he knows, and she fires him — either out of fear, or because she's in the thrall of some dark, supernatural evil. Nevertheless, Dresden risks his life to protect her as they play a dangerous game against a ruthless hellion that understands the rules of the game far better than they do.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Caryn Harris (Nikki Slovak)
MEREDITH HENDERSON
Sirota
KIM COATES
Sister Beatrice
CHAPELLLE JAFFE
Matthew Jacobs
COREY SEVIER
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
CURTIS KHEEL
Directed by
MICHAEL GROSSMAN
S1 E05 "Bad Blood"
PREMIERES SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25 AT 9/8C
Logline
Bianca, the most beautiful—and most dangerous—vampire in Chicago hires Dresden. Someone is trying to kill her, and she needs Dresden to find out who and why.
Synopsis
After narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, Bianca the vampire seeks help from the only man she can trust, Harry Dresden. But Harry doesn't trust her, and he's reluctant to take her case. Unfortunately for Dresden, he owes Bianca a favor.
Five years ago, after he killed his uncle Justin Morningway, Dresden was alone, injured and on the run from the High Council. Bianca took him in, nursed him back to health and kept him hidden from the Council.
Now it's time for Dresden to pay the debt. But Dresden starts to suspect that Bianca is setting him up, and that he may end up paying the debt with his life.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Bianca
JOANNE KELLY
Ancient Mai
JANE MCLEAN
Jake
LYRIQ BENT
Natalie
LAURA VANDERVOORT
Clive
MICHAEL COPEMAN
Laura Ellis
NATALIE LISINSKA
Arvin
KENT STAINES
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
JACK BERNSTEIN
Directed by
RICK ROSENTHAL
S1 E06 "Soul Beneficiary"
PREMIERES SUNDAY MARCH 4 AT 9/8C
Logline
When a man who has been having premonitions that he's about to die drops dead in Dresden's office, Harry is plunged into a bizarre murder plot that ends up revealing a dark secret from Bob's past.
Synopsis
Kelton Franks walks into Harry Dresden's office and says he's been having strange premonitions that he's about to die—right before he keels over and dies, right there in front of Harry. Was it a simple heart attack, as the coroner insists, or is there something more magical going on? When Kelton's body goes missing from the morgue, Harry soon discovers that nothing in this case is as it seems. In order to help him crack it, Bob is forced to reveal an explosive secret from his mortal past.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Kelton Franks
HAMISH MCEWAN
Nancy
TARA ROSLING
Carol Sarkisian
TARA ROSLING
Sharon
KERRY LAI FATT
Waldo Butters
MATT GORDON
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
PETER EGAN
Directed by
KEN GIROTTI
S1 E07 "Walls"
PREMIERES SUNDAY MARCH 11 AT 9/8C
Logline
Harry investigates a group of thieving college students who have discovered a supernatural method to bypass the most sophisticated of security systems. But there's madness in their method, because it is slowly killing them off, one by one.
Synopsis
After a college student is mysteriously killed just outside Dresden's office, and she was on her way to see Harry when she died. Harry follows the trail to her boyfriend Dante, who is part of a group of wealthy students who are responsible for a series of brilliant thefts that have baffled the police. Somehow they are able to get past the most sophisticated security systems, take what they want, and depart without leaving a trace. Harry soon discovers that the boys are using magic to walk through walls, but there's a price: with every use of the spell, each boy's body rots from the inside out.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Raychelle
ODEEN ECCLESTON
Brady Whitfield
STEVE BYERS
Dante Arrias
NATHANIEL STEPHENSON
Carson Harris
TYRONE SAVAGE
Laura Ellis
NATALIE LISINSKA
Ms. Shankar
MISHU VELLANI
Caleb Shaw
KERRY DOREY
Waldo Butters
MATT GORDON
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NICOLAS CAGE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE & HANS BEIMLER
Directed by
JOHN FAWCETT
S1 E08 "Storm Front"
PREMIERES SUNDAY MARCH 18 AT 9/8C
Logline
A grisly crime scene leads Harry to the middle of a gang war, and a nasty reminder of the perils of black magic.
Synopsis
When a local gangster and his girlfriend are found dead, their hearts literally exploded through their chests, the police are baffled. There's no natural explanation for the gruesome crime scene – no forced entry, no sign of struggle and no evidence that there was anyone in the room aside from the victims. Murphy calls Harry Dresden, who quickly realizes that the only possible explanation for what he's seeing is black magic. While the police assume that the gangster was the prime target, Harry is convinced that the girlfriend is the key. He uncovers a trail of intrigue that leads to three other murders, an encounter with the seductively lethal vampire Bianca, recurring battles with a fire-breathing demon, and a desperately futile attempt to go on a simple date with his lady friend, Susan, a local news reporter with a dangerous penchant for finding trouble.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Susan Rodriguez
REBECCA McFARLAND
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Ancient Mai
ELIZABETH THAI
Bianca
JOANNE KELLY
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
HANS BEIMLER
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
HANS BEIMLER
MORGAN GENDEL
Directed by
DAVID CARSON
S1 E09 "The Other Dick"
PREMIERES SUNDAY MARCH 25 AT 9/8C
Logline
After a local private investigator is murdered using supernatural means, Harry teams up with the dead man's assistant to uncover the truth.
Synopsis
In order to qualify for continued employment by the police, Harry is forced to take a course in private detecting from aging P.I. Jim Brennan. But when Brennan is murdered by supernatural means, Dresden teams up with his assistant Liz (Claudia Black) to uncover the truth. They look into Brennan's latest case, which at first appears to be the usual tale of a cheating wife and jealous husband. But when the trail leads to a fertility clinic that employs black magic, Harry and Liz need to use every trick in the P.I. trade to keep from winding up like Jim Brennan.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Kirman
RAOUL BHANEJA
Jim Brennan
RICHARD BLACKBURN
Liz Fontaine
CLAUDIA BLACK
Dr. Overland
JOHN BOYLAN
Ronald Jones
CHRIS OWENS
Mrs. Jones
STEPHANIE MOORE
Anya
LARA KELLY
Boris
CRAIG BROWN
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
HANS BEIMLER
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
GEORGE MASTRAS
Directed by
JAMES HEAD
S1 E10 "Things That Go Bump"
PREMIERES SUNDAY APRIL 1 AT 9/8C
Logline
Ancient Mai and Morgan seek refuge at Dresden's place after they are ambushed by one of Mai's enemies. But once they are safely inside, they discover that they're now all trapped by a powerful spell, and the walls are closing in.
Synopsis
Murphy comes to Dresden's office, inquiring about a strange explosion that was heard nearby. She is skeptical as he proclaims his innocence—isn't Dresden involved in every weird thing that happens in Chicago? He offers to check it out but as they prepare to leave the store, Morgan, Ancient Mai, and three more wardens burst into his place, seeking refuge after being attacked by one of Ancient Mai's enemies. Mai herself is critically wounded. As Dresden and Morgan prepare to repel another attack, all the doors and windows go completely black. Soon the blackness encroaches further and further into Dresden's place. Trapped together and suspicious of one another, the group races against time to counter the murderous spell before it swallows them all.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Ancient Mai
JANE MCLEAN
Wallace
JAMES BINKLEY
Colm Dresden
JONATHAN HIGGINS
Soto
BOBBY DEL RIO
Amber
CHRISTINE HORNE
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
HANS BEIMLER
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
Directed by
MICHAEL GROSSMAN
S1 E11 "Second City"
PREMIERES SUNDAY APRIL 8 AT 9/8C
Logline
Minutes after leaving a store, a former gang member is found dead under mysterious circumstances. Meanwhile, Murphy's father comes to Chicago, and he has a bone to pick with her – named Harry Dresden.
Synopsis
A man named Connor Reyes is found dead only moments after he steps out of a store. He apparently drowned—five miles from the mostly frozen lake—and has been branded. As Harry works the case with Murphy, he finds himself at odds with her father Joe, an ex-Chicago cop who doesn't think very highly of his daughter's freelance consultant. To make matters worse, Reyes's mysterious death and gang history draws the attention of Sergeant Darren Munzer, Head of the Anti-Gang unit and Murphy's nemesis, leaving Harry once again trapped in the middle.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Bob
TERRENCE MANN
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Sergeant Darren Munzer
YANNICK BISSON
Connor Reyes
CHAD CAMELLERI
Waldo Butters
MATT GORDON
Joe Murphy
CHUCK SHAMATA
Herrick
DANIEL PETRONIJEVIC
Captain Hackett
BILL LAKE
Romina Hanley
CHERYL QUIACOS
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
HANS BEIMLER
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
BARRY SCHKOLNICK
Directed by
NICK COPUS
S1 E12 "What About Bob?"
PREMIERES SUNDAY APRIL 15 AT 9/8C
Logline
Harry's latest lover sneaks out of his place with Bob's skull and delivers it to Dresden's uncle Justin Morningway – who died by Dresden's own hand five years ago. Dresden learns that death isn't all it's cracked up to be – especially where his uncle is concerned.
Synopsis
Harry's latest lover Tara absconds with Bob's skull in the dead of night and brings it to the Morningway mansion, where Harry's uncle Justin trained him in the black arts after Harry's father died. Though Dresden killed Justin Morningway five years ago, he appears to be very much alive. Tara hands over Bob's skull to him – but is that really Justin Morningway? Or is he a supernatural illusion of some kind? While Harry desperately conjures spells to locate Bob, his reincarnated uncle puts a plan in motion that will give Bob back his life – at the cost of Dresden's.
CAST
Harry Dresden
PAUL BLACKTHORNE
Lt. Connie Murphy
VALERIE CRUZ
Susan Rodriguez
REBECCA McFARLAND
Morgan
CONRAD COATES
Kirmani
RAOUL BHANEJA
Young Harry
MATTHEW KNIGHT
Colm Dresden
JONATHAN HIGGINS
Tara Wright
JORDAN MADLEY
Waldo Butters
MATT GORDON
Justin Morningway
DANIEL KASH
PRODUCTION
Executive Producers
DAVID SIMKINS
ROBERT HEWITT WOLFE
NORM GOLIGHTLY
HANS BEIMLER
Producer
JONATHAN HACKETT
Written by
DAVID SIMKINS
Directed by
DAVID STRAITON