SKYLAR ASTIN, CHRIS LOWELL AND ANGÉLICA MARÍA JOIN THE CAST OF GRAVES AN EPIX ORIGINAL SERIES STARRING NICK NOLTE AND SUSAN SARANDON

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

 

New York, NY – September 2, 2015 – Premium TV network EPIX® announced today that Skylar Astin (Pitch Perfect, Pitch Perfect 2), Chris Lowell (The Help, “Veronica Mars”) and Angélica María (“Qué Bonito Amor,” Sea of Dreams) have been cast alongside Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon in the EPIX Original Series Graves, a single-camera half-hour political satire produced by Lionsgate.

 

Skylar Astin will play Isaiah Miller, a neurotic, over-eager assistant who goes to work for his political hero President Richard Graves at the very moment that the ex-POTUS is tearing down his own legacy. Chris Lowell will portray Jeremy Graves, an underachiever who returns from the war in Afghanistan to face the real challenge of finding his life’s direction amid the everyday chaos of living with his presidential parents and self-destructive sister. Angélica María will play Ramona Alvarez, the wry housekeeper who has worked for President Graves since before he was elected President and as a result, grown comically desensitized to the daily dramas unfolding in the Graves household. They join previously announced Nolte and Sarandon who star as former President Graves and FLOTUS Margaret Graves. The storyline takes place 25 years after the end of their term, and Graves has the epiphany that his policies have damaged the country for decades.  So, with his young assistant Isaiah, he embarks on a Don Quixote-like journey to right the wrongs of his administration just as his wife, Margaret, decides to follow her own political ambitions.

 

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.

 

Astin is represented by UTA .

Lowell is represented by WME.

María is represented by Crossover Entertainment LLC.

 

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 the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the multiple Emmy Award-winning drama Mad Men, the hit broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the acclaimed drama Manhattan and the breakout series The Royals.

 

Its feature film business has been fueled by such 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 DUFFJohn WickNow You See Me, Roadside Attractions’ Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, 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

 

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