BBC America turning 10 p.m. Wednesdays into 'Dramaville' with 'Luther' and two new series

BBC America looks like a great source for drama for the second half of 2011. The cabler is launching its 10 p.m. Wednesdays "Dramaville" franchise in August with two promising series and an outstanding returning skein.

Premiering Aug. 17: "The Hour," starring Dominic West, Romola Garai and Ben Wishaw in a 1950s spy thriller set in the London newsroom of the BBC, with the three lead characters also caught up in a love triangle.

Premiering Oct. 5: the second season of "Luther" (above), with West's former "The Wire" co-star Idris Elba in the lead. (Elba also will host the "Dramaville" presentations on BBC America.)

Premiering Nov. 2: "Whitechapel," in which modern-day killers copycat infamous crimes of the past, starring Rupert Penry-Jones and Phil Davis as detectives challenged by the bizarre increase in murders in East London.