Haven Moves To Thursdays, Adds Laura Mennell

Haven is prepping the launch of its fifth season, and today Syfy announced a somewhat surprising time change.

The show will air Thursdays at 8/7c, followed by two episodes of Spartacus: Gods of the Arena at 9/8c and 10/9c.

In the season premiere, “See No Evil,” Nathan and Duke must cope with the loss of Audrey (Emily Rose) — who seems to be gone for good after having transformed into the wickedly evil Mara.

Joining the cast this season is actress Laura Mennell, who played Nina Theroux on Syfy’s two-season superhero drama Alphas. She’ll play Dr. Erin Reid, described by the network as “a brilliant and beautiful epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who fears the town of Haven is on the verge of a deadly viral outbreak.”

Haven has aired on Friday nights in the post-WWE wrestling time slot, which has been good for its ratings numbers. While the new time slot may expose it to new viewers — and help Syfy stake a claim to Thursdays in the fall season — similar moves have not done well with past series. In past years the network has moved hits such as Battlestar Galactica, Sanctuary, and Stargate Universe off the Friday night schedule, in each case leading to lower live viewership and the eventual end of those shows.

Haven has been picked up for a double-size fifth season (26 episodes), with the second half to air in the fall of 2015. So think of it as a de facto sixth season … since no Syfy Channel original scripted drama has ever made it past five.

Tune in Thursday night for the new season!