SUSAN SARANDON JOINS NICK NOLTE TO STAR IN EPIX ORIGINAL SERIES GRAVES

SUSAN SARANDON JOINS NICK NOLTE TO STAR IN EPIX ORIGINAL SERIES GRAVES

Series Created by Joshua Michael Stern and Produced by Lionsgate to Debut Autumn 2016

New York, NY — July 8, 2015 – Premium TV network EPIX® announced today that Oscar®-winning actress Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), has been cast to star with Nick Nolte in Graves, a single-camera half-hour political satire produced by Lionsgate. Sarandon will play Margaret Graves, the wife of former U.S. President Richard Graves (Nolte), who decides to follow her own political ambitions just as her husband embarks on a Don Quixote-like journey to right the wrongs of his administration.

Joshua Michael Stern (Swing Vote) created the project and will write and executive produce the 10-episode series.  Stern will also direct select episodes. Oscar®-winning producer Greg Shapiro (The Hurt Locker), Keith Eisner (The Good Wife) and Eric Weinberg (Anger Management) are also executive producers. Production on the series is scheduled to begin this fall and premiere on EPIX in Autumn 2016.

“We are overjoyed to have Susan join the cast of Graves,” said Mark S. Greenberg, President and CEO of EPIX. “Susan is a phenomenal actor whose comedic talents will bring a depth and richness of character to the role.”

“Our greatest wish has always been to have Susan Sarandon star with Nick Nolte in Graves,” said Kevin Beggs, Chairman, Lionsgate Television Group. “To have two such brilliant and accomplished actors headline one of the first original series for EPIX is a dream come true.”

Sarandon, a five-time Oscar® nominee, earned her first Academy Award® nomination for Atlantic City (1980) starring opposite screen legend Burt Lancaster. Her portrayal of the tough, protective and somewhat broken Louise in Thelma and Louise (1991) earned her another Oscar® nomination.  She was also nominated for Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) and The Client (1994).  She played a nun in the gritty and powerful capital punishment drama Dead Man Walking (1995) and won an Academy Award® for her performance.

Sarandon is represented by UTA.

Graves marks the second project in which Nolte and Sarandon play a married couple.  In 1992 they starred in Lorenzo’s Oil, a true-life drama of a father and mother who battle against the odds to find a cure to save their son afflicted with a rare disease.

Academy Award® nominee Nick Nolte’s notable screen credits include 48 Hours (1982), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), The Prince of Tides (1991) for which he received his first Oscar® nomination and the Golden Globe® for Best Actor.  His performance as a troubled small town cop in Affliction (1997) garnered him a second Oscar® nomination.  Other performances include The Golden Bowl (2000), The Good Thief (2002), Hotel Rwanda (2004) and Off the Black (2006).

Nolte is represented by CAA and Jackoway Tyerman.

About EPIX

EPIX® is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service delivering the latest movie releases, classic film franchises, original documentaries, comedy and music events on TV, on demand, online and on devices. Launched in October 2009, EPIX has pioneered the development and proliferation of “TV Everywhere.” It was the first premium network to provide multi-platform access online at EPIX.com and was the first premium network to launch on XBox 360, PlayStation® 3 and 4, Android phones and tablets, Windows 8.1 and Roku® players.  EPIX is available to authenticated subscribers on hundreds of devices including Chromecast and Apple® iPads® and iPhones® and is the only premium service providing all its programming on all platforms, delivering more movies than any other premium network, with thousands of titles available for streaming.

EPIX is a joint venture between Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIA.B), its Paramount Pictures unit, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM). Through relationships with cable, satellite and telco partners, EPIX is available to over 50 million homes nationwide.  For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter and Periscope @EpixHD (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX), Google+ (http://plus.google.com/+EPIX), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/EPIX) and Vine (https://vine.co/EPIX).

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms, video games and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the hit series Orange is the New Black, the critically-acclaimed drama Manhattan and the breakoutseries The Royals.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first three installments of The Hunger Games franchise, the first two installments of the Divergent franchise, The Age of Adaline, CBS/Lionsgate’s The DUFF, John Wick, Now You See Me, Roadside Attractions’ Love & Mercy and A Most Wanted Man, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films’ Addicted and Pantelion Films’ Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate’s home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company’s core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

 

Media Contacts: 

EPIX                                                               Lionsgate TV

Marlea Willis                                                   Leah Krantzler

mwillis@epix.com                                           lkrantzler@lippingroup.com

212.846.6748                                                  323.965.1990 ext. 342