James Callis joins cast of 'Eureka'

NEW YORK, March 15 (UPI) -- Production is to begin this week in Vancouver on Season 4 of the dramedy "Eureka," which will consist of 20 fresh episodes, Syfy said Monday.

Mark Stern -- Syfy's executive vice president of development and co-head of original content for Universal Cable Productions -- announced "Battlestar Galactica" veteran James Callis has joined the cast of the show, which also stars Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Colin Ferguson and Joe Morton.

The new season is slated to debut July 9.

"Eureka seems like any other cozy, Pacific Northwest town, but is actually a secret community of geniuses assembled by the government to conduct top-secret research," Syfy said in a synopsis of the series. "What they've unwittingly created is a place where anything imaginable can happen … and does."