C4 acquires a trio of dramas from Warner Bros International Television

22 August 2013

Picture: Hostages

 

Channel 4 has acquired the UK premiere broadcast rights to a slate of three brand new shows from Warner Bros. International Television to air early 2014: the thrilling Hostages, which will air on Channel 4, apocalyptic The 100 and the next step in human evolution, The Tomorrow People, both airing on E4.

 

Hostages

Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Toni Collette (Hitchcock, The Hours, Muriel’s Wedding), Golden Globe winner and Emmy® nominee Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story, The Practice) and Tate Donovan (Argo, Damages, Friends) star in this brand new drama series from executive producers Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean, CSI) and Jeffrey Nachmanoff (Chicago Fire), based upon an Israeli format. Ellen Sanders (Collette) is a top US surgeon in Washington, D.C., chosen by the President to treat him. But Ellen’s usual calm is rocked to the core when masked men invade her home and take her husband (Donovan) and two children hostage, threatening to harm them unless she kills the President when she operates on him.  But Ellen will do anything to protect her family...as will Duncan Carlisle (McDermott), an FBI agent at the centre of a conspiracy involving the President. As tensions mount and Ellen fights for time, it becomes clear that the outwardly idyllic Sanders family isn't as perfect as originally thought…nor are their captors as evil as one might suspect. Each hour-long episode (15 episodes in the season) occurs over a 24-hour period. Hostages is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television in association with Warner Bros. Television, for CBS in the US. It will air on Channel 4 in the UK.

 

The 100

After the earth is devastated by a nuclear apocalypse, the world’s only survivors were the inhabitants of 12 international space stations orbiting the Earth. Nearly 100 years after the destruction of the planet, the survivors now number 4,000, and resources on their dying “Ark” (the 12 stations now linked together in space) are fast running out. The leaders of the Ark take ruthless steps to ensure the survival of the human race – including secretly exiling 100 juvenile prisoners to Earth’s surface to test whether it has yet become habitable again. For these hundred, this alien planet is a mysterious realm – magical one moment, lethal the next and always teeming with the unknown. The cast of the series includes Eliza Taylor (Neighbours), Paige Turco (Damages, Party of Five, American Gothic), Thomas McDonell (Suburgatory), with Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy) and Henry Ian Cusick (Lost). The 100 is based on the book series by Kass Morgan. The executive producers are Elizabeth Craft (The Vampire Diaries, Dollhouse), Sarah Fain (The Vampire Diaries, Dollhouse), Jason Rothenberg (upcoming Twilight Zone feature), Leslie Morgenstein (The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl) and Gina Girolamo (The Lying Game). It will air in the UK on E4 and is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Alloy Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios for The CW Television Network in the US.

 

The Tomorrow People

They are the next evolutionary shift of mankind – a generation of humans born with paranormal abilities. They are the Tomorrow People. Based on the original UK TV series from the 1970s, the show follows the trials and tribulations faced by this genetically advanced race who have the abilities to teleport and communicate telepathically. Hunted by a paramilitary group of scientists known as Ultra who see the Tomorrow People as a very real threat, the outcast group hides out in an abandoned subway station just beneath the surface of the human world. However, Stephen Jameson (Robbie Amell), the newest member of this small group of Tomorrow People, is torn between his loyalty to the group who have become his new family, the offer of the Ultra who promise him his old life back and his own desires to explore his father’s mysterious disappearance. The Tomorrow People is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions, FremantleMedia, Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios for The CW Television Network in the US and will be shown in the UK on E4. Executive producers for the series are Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Brothers and Sisters, Dawson’s Creek), Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries), Danny Cannon (CSI, Nikita), Phil Klemmer (Chuck), Thom Beers (Deadliest Catch) and Craig Cegielski (Camelot), with co-executive producer Melissa Kellner Berman (Arrow). The show is based upon the original series The Tomorrow People, created by Roger Price.

 

“These three series were incredibly well-received and sought after at the LA Screenings and we are pleased that they ultimately landed at Channel 4 and E4,” said Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution. 

Channel 4 Chief Creative Officer, Jay Hunt, says; “Channel 4 has had real success with Warner Bros. shows such as The Big Bang Theory and 2 Broke Girls so I’m thrilled to be bringing more of the best acquisitions to the Channel 4 network.”

 

Notes to Editors:

Channel 4 are also pleased to announce that the following Warner Bros.’ series will be returning to the network late 2013 and into 2014, exact dates tbc:

• The third series of Suburgatory  on E4
• The seventh series of The Big Bang Theory on E4
• The third series of 2 Broke Girls E4
• The final series of Southland on More4
• Series three and four of Shameless USA on More4