(Peter Cullen)

The leader of the Autobots and protector of humans is the biggest, strongest and smartest. He goes from big rig to his red-and-blue armored self. "We always saw Optimus as the noble knight who was there to protect and to carry on the code. The code extends as far back as to what it represented on Cybertron and the lineage he came from, which was protection of the race," Kurtzman says.

Megatron

(Frank Welker)

The villainous Megatron, who seeks to conquer Earth, has acquired a rare element that allows him mastery over life itself. Kurtzman says Megatron "in many ways is a fallen hero. He is Lucifer. He is the one who used to be the angel. There is something compelling and also really tragic about that character." He sees Optimus and Megatron as "different sides of the same coin. That duality and that friction is what I think has made for a great relationship."

Cliffjumper

(Dwayne Johnson)

This Autobot "lives up to his name in that he is the fearless one, the guy who literally will leap before he looks," Kurtzman says. "His car form is very distinctive. There's a lot of character and specificity in his design of the car. It feels very true to his nature."

Starscream

(Steven Blum)

LOS ANGELES, Ca. – Fans of the enormously popular Transformers action-adventure entertainment franchise will revel in the upcoming television event on The Hub cable network – a five-part original mini-series, Monday-Friday, November 29 – December 3, showcasing “Transformers: Prime,” a new CGI-animated television series coming to the network. The Hub, a TV network for kids and their families, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc., and is available to 60 million U.S. cable and satellite households.

“Transformers: Prime” is produced for The Hub by Hasbro Studios. Alex Kurtzman, Robert Orci and Jeff Kline are executive producers. Kurtzman and Orci served as executive producers of the feature films “Transformers,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and “Star Trek.” Kline was also executive producer of the animated series “Jackie Chan Adventures.”

Prior to the five-day mini-series event, The Hub will spotlight “Transformers: Prime” with a Thanksgiving holiday weekend sneak preview of the mini-series and an action-packed lineup of “Transformers: Prime”-related programming that begins Friday, November 26. Kicking off the Transformers schedule is a special episode of the original series “Hubworld,” a weekly, half-hour, pop culture magazine that will be dedicated to the Transformers phenomenon, Friday, November 26 (3 p.m. ET).

“Hubworld”’s special “Transformers: Prime” episode will be followed by a half-hour behind-the-special, “Hub Exclusive: “Transformers: Prime’” (3:30 p.m. ET), which culminates with the premiere of the first two half-hour episodes (at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET) of the “Transformers: Prime” mini-series, in which arch rivals the Autobots and Decepticons once again face-off in their epic rivalry for control of Earth. The all-new mini-series will feature iconic characters of the franchise, including Autobots Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, and the ominous Decepticon Megatron, as well as introducing new human characters to the action series.

Following the “Transformers: Prime” Friday lineup of programming, The Hub will showcase the highly anticipated new series with the five-day mini-series event, Monday-Friday, November 29-December 3 (6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. ET). The week-long run will include three additional new episodes of “Transformers Prime” on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, December 1-3.

A full schedule of the “Transformers: Prime” and related programming follows. (All times ET).

“Hubworld” – Transformers-themed episode (Friday, November 26, 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) “Hubworld” is a weekly, live-action pop culture magazine show that infuses what's happening in the life of everyday kids with what's happening on The Hub television network. Actor-magician Justin Willman will hosts.

Hub Exclusive: “Transformers: Prime’” (premiere: Friday, November 26, 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Encore presentations: Monday, November 29, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Friday, December 3; 4:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.; and Saturday, December 4, 12 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.)

“Transformers: Prime” - Part 1 of “Darkness Rising” (premiere: Friday, November 26, 4 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Encore presentations: 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. and 12 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.; Monday, November 29, 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Tuesday, November 30, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 4, 1:30 p.m. – 2 p.m.)

“Transformers: Prime” - Part 2 of “Darkness Rising” (premiere: Friday, November 26, 4:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Encore presentations: 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. – 1 a.m.; Tuesday, November 30, 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Wednesday, December 1, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 4, 2 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)

“Transformers: Prime” - Part 3 of “Darkness Rising” (premiere: Wednesday, December 1, 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Encore presentations: Thursday, December 2, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Saturday, December 4, 2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.)

“Transformers: Prime” - Part 4 of “Darkness Rising” (premiere: Thursday, December 2, 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Encore presentations: Friday, December 3, 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 4, 3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.)

“Transformers: Prime” - Part 5 of “Darkness Rising” (premiere: Friday, December 3, 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Encore presentation: Saturday, December 4, 3:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.)