London - 10 April 2014
UKTV's flagship pay entertainment channel Watch, has landed the highly-anticipated thriller Crisis, featuring internationally renowned stars Gillian Anderson and Dermot Mulroney.
The 13 x 60' series, acquired from Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, follows the abduction of several children of Washington D.C's most powerful players, including the President's son. With some of the country's most influential parents at the mercy of one vengeful mastermind, the question arises: how far would you go and what would you become to ensure your child's safe return?
As parents and dignitaries are put into play with nowhere to turn and no one to trust, panic sets in and puts the entire nation at stake.
Steve Hornsey, General Manager for Watch, said
Watch brings its audience another irresistible UK premiere. Crisis is an exciting and original conspiracy thriller full of unexpected plot twists. It captures the current enthusiasm for political intrigue in a fast-paced and dramatic character story, brought to life by a fantastic ensemble cast.
Golden Globe® and Emmy® award-winning actress Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) plays Meg Fitch, the CEO of a conglomerate, whose daughter is part of the mass abduction. Long estranged from her sister, Agent Susie Dunn, played by Rachael Taylor (666 Park Avenue), with whom she shares a shocking secret, Meg has to use her own intelligence and judgment to do whatever it takes to get her daughter back. Dermot Mulroney (August: Osage County) plays Francis Gibson, a chaperone on the ill-fated school trip who is also an ex-CIA field operative and Lance Gross (House of Payne) plays Agent Marcus Finley.
Crisis has already proved popular with viewers in the US where it is airing on NBC and the series will premiere in the UK on Watch later this year.
Catherine Mackin, Director of Programme Acquisitions at UKTV, added
Crisis provides compelling viewing and will no doubt keep Watch viewers on the edge of their seats as the conspiracy unravels. I'm also thrilled that we are continuing our successful partnership with Twentieth Century Fox and offering British viewers the chance to see highly-anticipated content like Crisis ahead of other UK channels.
Steve Cornish, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution says,
We are really excited to be launching Crisis on Watch this season. It is the perfect home for this roller-coaster ride of a TV show. Viewers better buckle up!
Crisis was created by executive producer and writer Rand Ravich (Life). Far Shariat (I Love You Phillip Morris) and Phillip Noyce (Salt) also serve as executive producers.
UKTV's Watch has enjoyed a strong start to 2014 with adult share up 15% year-on-year. Last month the channel reached 13.8million individuals and in addition to Crisis, viewers have brand new episodes of BAFTA-nominated Dynamo: Magician Impossible to look forward to this year.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Kerry Parker, Head of Network Communications
About UKTV
UKTV is the multi-award winning media company that reaches over 42 million viewers per month.
UKTV's ten imaginative channel brands - Watch, Dave, Gold, Alibi, Eden, Yesterday, Drama, Really, Home and Good Food - include the most watched non-PSB channel, the most watched channel in the Factual genre and the most watched channels in the Lifestyle genre (Pay and Free). The company's most recent financial results showed a record-breaking year-end revenue of £262m, and operating profit at £71m.
UKTV has a truly innovative model, curating brand-defining commissions, high-profile acquisitions and the very best of BBC and Channel 4 content, and embracing technology to deliver inspired channels to audiences through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, BT Vision, TalkTalk, YouView, plus direct On Demand digital services. The network distributes its highly valued programmes to 200 territories around the world and supplies Sky with more hours of HD content than anyone else.
Now celebrating its 21st year at the forefront of digital television, UKTV - an independent commercial joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (SNI) - is proud to be the only British broadcaster to be recognised by Best Companies.
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20th Century Fox Television Distribution
A unit of 21st Century Fox, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution is a global leader in the distribution of award-winning motion pictures, television programming and entertainment content across pay-TV, broadcast television and SVOD. Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution connects audiences around the world with premium content from the production divisions of Twentieth Century Fox Films, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX and FBC as well as other 21st Century Fox companies.