War of the Worlds: Season 2

War of the Worlds, written and created by BAFTA Award-winner Howard Overman (Misfits, Crazyhead, Merlin) of Urban Myth Films will premiere its eight-episode second season on EPIX on June 6 at 9pm.

Set in France and the UK, the critically-acclaimed, modern-day retelling of H.G. Wells’ classic novel has an ensemble cast, including Golden Globe winner and EMMY and Tony award nominated actor Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment), and Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award winner, Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People), along with returning cast members, Léa Drucker, Natasha Little, Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif, Ty Tennant, Stephen Campbell Moore, Bayo Gbadamosi, Aaron Heffernan and Emilie de Preissac.

In the first season of War of the Worlds, an alien attack all but wiped out mankind, with just a handful of humans fighting to survive.  And no one felt more rocked by the invasion than Emily (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who discovered she may have her own strange personal connection to the aliens.  Season two of War of the Worlds sees our characters left reeling by the possibility that the invaders could be human. A tense fight to take back the planet awaits them. For some, the sheer desperation to survive will lead them to contemplate sacrificing one of their own…

Distributed internationally by STUDIOCANAL, the drama series is executive produced by Howard Overman, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps for Urban Myth Films. War of the Worlds was produced with support of Welsh Government funding through Creative Wales. The second season of the contemporary adaptation sees Richard Clark return to direct episodes 1-4; Ben A. Williams directs episodes 5-8.

War of the Worlds is produced by Studiocanal-backed Urban Myth Films, in partnership with CANAL+ and FOX.

Domina

This epic, sweeping eight-part drama series takes place during one of the most provocative periods in Roman history.  Filmed in Rome, Domina follows the extraordinary rise of Emperor Augustus Caesar’s third wife, Livia Drusilla, played by Kasia Smutniak (Perfetti Sconosciuti, Loro, Devils). The series will bring to life the exploits, affairs, and battles for political clout that surrounded this power couple who sat at the heart of the Roman Empire.

Smutniak leads an international ensemble cast featuring Matthew McNulty (Misfits) as future emperor Augustus (played by Tom Glynn-Carney – Dunkirk, ll re, Tolkien), Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) as Claudia Octavia, Gaius’ sister; Christine Bottomley (The End of the F***ing World) as Scribonia, Gaius’ first wife and Livia’s mortal enemy; Colette Dalal Tchantcho (The Witcher) as Antigone, Livia’s trusted handmaid who has been granted freedom and becomes her confidant; Ben Batt (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Agrippa, Gaius’ childhood friend, then general and later consul. Alongside them, Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones) playing Livius, Livia’s father, and Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her) playing Balbina. The actress Nadia Parkes (Doctor Who, The Spanish Princess) plays young Drusilla in the first two episodes of the series.

The crew includes a prolific team, with costumes designed by the Academy Award®-winning Gabriella Pescucci, production design by Luca Tranchino (Prison Break), make-up by Katia Sisto (Penny Dreadful) and hair design by Claudia Catini (Trust).

Created and written by Simon Burke (Fortitude, Strike Back) with Nicola Wilson, Emily Marcuson and Namsi Khan, the series features filmmaker Claire McCarthy (Ophelia, The Luminaries) as lead director alongside David Evans (Downton Abbey, Cucumber) and Debs Paterson (A Discovery of Witches, Strike Back).

Domina is a Sky Original series produced by Fifty Fathoms and Sky Studios, with Cattleya as executive production service. The series is executive produced by Patrick Spence, Marcus Wilson, Faye Dorn, Simon Burke and Claire McCarthy, and produced by John Phillips. NBCUniversal Global Distribution handles international sales of the series on behalf of Sky Studios.

Fall River

Docuseries Fall River from Blumhouse Television (The Jinx, A Wilderness of Error) and Pyramid Productions will debut on May 16 at 10pm on EPIX. In 1979 – almost 90 years after infamous, accused murderer Lizzie Borden’s notorious acquittal – Fall River, Massachusetts would become home to another terrifying series of crimes. When three young women were killed in a streak of brutal murders, police alleged a satanic cult was practicing human sacrifice. The cult leader, a man named Carl Drew, was captured and sent to prison for life without parole.

Twenty years after the trial, the lead investigator Paul Carey became so haunted by inconsistencies in the stories that he re-investigated his own case after he retired. Evidence surfaced that brought the entire story into question. Now through exclusive interviews, including intimate conversations with Drew, new witnesses and illuminating evidence, this documentary series will tell the true story of a town caught in the grips of the paranoia and fear around the 1980s Satanic Panic, and will shed light on murders that were thought to have been solved.

Fall River is executive produced by Jason Blum and directed/executive produced by James Buddy Day (The Lover’s Lane Murders, Manson: The Women, The Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell). Jeremy Gold, Mary Lisio, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart also serve as executive producers. The series will be internationally distributed by MGM.

Godfather of Harlem: Season 2

Godfather of Harlem tells a story inspired by infamous Harlem crime boss Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker), who in the early 1960s returned from eleven years in prison to find the neighborhood he once ruled in shambles. Season 2 finds Bumpy battling the New York Crime Families for control of the lucrative and murderous “French Connection,” the pipeline for heroin that runs from Marseilles to New York Harbor.  With a distribution syndicate that includes black crime bosses from other major U.S. cities, Bumpy takes a cue from his friend Malcolm X’s message of black economic nationalism. His ambitious plan will face challenges from not only the Italians but his wife Mayme, daughter Elise, rival Adam Clayton Powell, prosecutor Robert Morgenthau, and even Malcolm himself.  Once again, Godfather of Harlem explores the collision of the criminal underworld and civil rights in the colorful, tumultuous year of 1964.

In addition to Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as star and executive producer, season 2 sees the return of cast members Vincent D’Onofrio (Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Daredevil), Ilfenesh Hadera (She’s Gotta Have It, Baywatch), Nigél Thatch (Selma, American Dreams), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian), Lucy Fry (Bright, Vampire Academy), Rafi Gavron (A Star is Born), and Antoinette Crowe-Legacy. Cast members Erik LaRay Harvey (Luke Cage) and Demi Singleton (King Richard) have been upped to series regulars.

Produced by ABC Signature Studios, which is a part of Disney Television Studios, the series is co-created and executive produced by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein (Narcos). Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi, along with James Acheson, Markuann Smith and Joe Chappelle, serve as executive producers. Swizz Beatz serves as executive music producer. Chris Brancato serves as showrunner.

Condor

Based on the novel Six Days of the Condor by James Grady and screenplay “Three Days of the Condor” by Lorenzo Semple Jr. and David Rayfiel, spy-thriller series Condor follows CIA analyst Joe Turner (Max Irons) who stumbles onto a plan that threatens the lives of millions. Season one will run on EPIX starting in early March, followed by the U.S. debut of season two later in the year.

Joe Turner has always been conflicted about his work for the CIA. But when something he’s discovered gets his entire office killed, leaving Joe as the only survivor and forcing him to go on the run, the theoretical reservations he’s harbored turn into all-too-real moral dilemmas. Under pressure, Joe will be forced to redefine who he is and what he’s capable of in order to discover the truth and to stop a plot that threatens the lives of millions. In season two of Condor, shocking events back home force Joe Turner to face the demons of his past and return to the CIA’s tight-knit Virginia community to find a Russian traitor.

In addition to Irons, Condor season one also stars William Hurt, Leem Lubany, Angel Bonnani, Kristen Hager, with Mira Sorvino and Bob Balaban and special guest star Brendan Fraser. Season two stars Irons, Constance Zimmer, Alexei Bondar, Isidora Goreshter, Hager, Eric Johnson, Toby Leonard Moore, Jonathan Kells Phillips and Rose Rollins, with Hager and Balaban returning.

The series is executive produced by Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg, Andrew McCarthy. David Ellison and Dana Goldberg for Skydance Television, Marcy Ross, Shane Elrod and Brian Walsh, John Weber and Frank Siracusa. Smilovic and Katzberg serve as showrunners. The series is produced by MGM Television & Skydance Television with MGM being the lead studio, in association with Paramount Television. Condor is internationally distributed by MGM.

The Eisen Hour

The Eisen Hour is a weekly hour-long, six-episode series featuring Emmy nominated broadcaster, Rich Eisen.  Each week, Eisen will sit down with some of the most dynamic personalities from the world of sports and entertainment. True to his style, Rich will unearth unique stories and opinions using his total recall of all things movies and pop culture. Each week highlights a joyful, engaging, and oftentimes hilarious look at the world of entertainment through the lens of Eisen’s uncanny interviewing style.

Eisen will produce through his newly formed, Rich Eisen Productions, alongside Michael Davies and Embassy Row. Central Talent Booking will oversee talent for The Eisen Hour.

Bridge and Tunnel

Written, directed and produced by Edward Burns (Saving Private Ryan, Public Morals), this dramedy series set in 1980 revolves around a group of recent college grads setting out to pursue their dreams in Manhattan while still clinging to the familiarity of their working-class Long Island home town.

The series features a stellar ensemble cast including Sam Vartholomeos (Star Trek: Discovery), Caitlin Stasey (Reign, Please Like Me), Gigi Zumbado (9-1-1, Criminal Minds, Scream), JanLuis Castellanos (13 Reasons Why, Marvel’s Runways), Brian Muller (The Deuce, Madame Secretary, The Good Wife), Isabella Farrell (The Good Fight), Barrett Wilbert Weed (Mean Girls on Broadway) and Erica Hernandez (Hollywood Fringe, Brittany Runs a Marathon). 

In addition to Burns, the series is also executive produced by Aaron Lubin (Something Borrowed, Public Morals) and Lori Keith Douglas (The Village, Friends from College).  This is the second series from EPIX Studios. Bridge and Tunnel is internationally distributed by MGM.

Pennyworth: Season 2

Pennyworth follows Bruce Wayne’s legendary butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon), a former British SAS soldier who goes to work with young billionaire Thomas Wayne (Ben Aldridge), who has not yet become Bruce Wayne’s father, in 1960s London.

A year after the explosive events of last season, England finds itself embroiled in a devastating civil war, with the powerful, neo-fascist Raven Union, led by Lord Harwood (Jason Flemyng) threatening to control the entire country.  North London remains one of the few resistance holdouts remaining.  It’s here in the West End Neutral Zone, that we find Alfred Pennyworth. After years in the British Army, his training with the SAS has taught him to be a cynical optimist – expecting the worst, but knowing that he can handle it.  Now running The Delaney, a black-market Soho club that welcomes everyone, regardless of their politics, Alfred, with his SAS mates, Deon “Bazza” Bashford (Hainsley Lloyd Bennett) and Wallace “Daveboy” MacDougal (Ryan Fletcher), is now in search of a way out – before London, and his country, burns itself to the ground.  And he’s got his eye on America.

In addition to Bannon (The Imitation Game, Ripper Street) and Aldridge (Our Girl, Fleabag), Pennyworth features a stellar ensemble cast including Emma Paetz (Gentleman Jack), Ryan Fletcher (Outlander), Dorothy Atkinson (Mr. Turner, Topsy-Turvy) with multi-award-winning recording artist Paloma Faith.

Season two introduces new series regulars James Purefoy (The Following, Sex Education, Altered Carbon), Edward Hogg (Taboo, Harlots, White Lightning), Jessye Romeo (Curfew, In the Long Run), Ramon Tikaram (Brassic, The Victim) and Harriet Slater (Faunutland and the Lost Magic).

Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, Pennyworth was developed by Bruno Heller (Gotham, The Mentalist, Rome) who executive produces with Danny Cannon (Gotham, CSI series) and Matthew Patnick (The Night Manager, Peaky Blinders).

By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem

Inspired by the music and subjects featured in the EPIX original series Godfather of Harlem, this documentary series brings alive the dramatic true story of Harlem and its music during the 1960’s, and connects that history to our present moment.

Featuring interviews with the stars of Godfather of Harlem, including Academy Award®-winner Forest Whitaker, Giancarlo Esposito and Ilfenesh Hadera and musicians Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves, Herbie Hancock, Nile Rogers, A$AP Ferg, Chika, Joe Bataan and Freddie Stone, this series will take audiences on a musical journey that brings to life the excitement of 1960’s Harlem, and introduces the artists who dared to use their voices, instruments and lyrics to take a stand against oppression. Other notables in the series include activist Al Sharpton, former U.S. Representative Charles Rangel and poet Sonia Sanchez. Through archival footage and evocative imagery, audiences will see beyond the black and white historical images into the multicolored souls of musicians unafraid to use music as a weapon against change.

By Whatever Means Necessary: The Times of Godfather of Harlem is executive produced by Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker from Significant Productions, along with Keith McQuirter (Decoder Media).

Unprotected Sets: Season 2

Unprotected Sets returns for a second season, with an all new class of killer comedians. This is the only stand-up series that pairs hilarious performances onstage with deep & revealing interview segments backstage, creating an instant connection to the comics and a richer experience for viewers at home. It only feels fun… if it’s Unprotected Sets.