TNT Gives Greenlight to Action-Packed Drama Series LEVERAGE

From Dean Devlin, Starring Oscar(R) Winner Timothy Hutton

Devlin and John Rogers Serve as Executive Producers on Series from Electric Entertainment

Series Slated To Premiere in 2008

TNT has given the greenlight to the thrilling, action-packed drama series LEVERAGE, starring Oscar(R) winner Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People, Nero Wolfe) and executive-produced by Dean Devlin (Independence Day, TNT's The Librarian) and John Rogers (Cosby). The series follows a team of thieves, hackers and grifters who act as modern-day Robin Hoods, taking revenge against those who use power and wealth to victimize others. TNT has ordered 13 episodes of LEVERAGE, which comes to the network from Devlin's Electric Entertainment. Devlin makes his directorial debut on the pilot, which was written by Rogers (Transformers) and Chris Downey (The King of Queens). LEVERAGE is slated to premiere on TNT later this year.

"LEVERAGE is great entertainment," said Michael Wright, senior vice president in charge of the content creation group for TNT, TBS and TCM. "It's fast-paced, smart and just great fun. Dean Devlin directed the pilot to perfection. Timothy Hutton is outstanding, and he and the cast around him have a great chemistry. This is a new genre for us in our series efforts, and it's great to be able to tackle it with Dean. His Librarian movies for TNT have been huge successes. We couldn't be happier having him and John Rogers bring that same sense of style and storytelling to us in series form."

In LEVERAGE, Hutton plays former insurance investigator Nate Ford, a once-loyal corporate employee who had recovered millions of dollars in stolen goods for his employer. But when that employer denied his son's insurance claims and allowed the boy to die, he realized he could no longer work for such an entity.

Out of work and descending into alcoholism, Ford is hired by an aeronautics executive to recover airplane designs the executive claims were stolen by a rival company. Helping him are four highly skilled team members: Parker (Beth Riesgraf Alvin and the Chipmunks), an expert thief; Alex Hardison (Aldis Hodge Friday Night Lights), a specialist in Internet and computer fraud; Eliot Spencer (Christian Kane Into the West), a high-octane "retrieval specialist" who can take out a gang of henchmen without breaking a sweat; and Sophie Devereaux (Gina Bellman Coupling), a grifter who could win awards for her acting skills during difficult scams. At first the newly formed team is hesitant to trust each other after so many years working alone but being double-crossed changes the dynamic, ultimately forcing them to unite. They emerge from the job realizing they are far better working together than apart. Once they discover they can trust each other the group targets their cons toward the richest, the greediest and the most unjust.

Electric Entertainment is a full service film, television, and new media production company headed by veteran producer Dean Devlin along with partners Kearie Peak, Marc Roskin and Rachel Olschan. Over the last fifteen years, Devlin has co-written and produced some of the most successful feature films of all time. He co-wrote and produced Stargate and Independence Day, which has grossed over $800 million worldwide. He co-wrote and produced Godzilla, and produced The Patriot starring Mel Gibson, which was nominated for three Academy Awards. Electric is currently in pre-production on the science-fiction thriller Isobar as well as Ghosting, which Devlin will also direct. Both projects are scheduled to begin production later this year. Electric's most recent film projects include MGM's Flyboys which opened nationwide last September; Sony Pictures Classics' politically-charged documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, which was nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics Association for Best Documentary Feature; New Line's Fall 2004 release Cellular starring Kim Basinger; and Eight Legged Freaks, released by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow in July 2002. Electric's television credits include "The Librarian: Quest for the Spear," starring Noah Wyle which aired on TNT network in December 2004 and was the highest rated movie on cable that year and its sequel, "The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines," which aired last December on TNT and won an Emmy award for best music composition; and the Sci Fi Channel's "The Triangle," which won an Emmy for its Visual Effects, and was the highest-rated miniseries on the cable channel since "Steven Spielberg Presents TAKEN (2002)." The company is currently in pre-production on the third installment of the Librarian franchise, "Curse of the Judas Chalice," which will begin shooting this spring in New Orleans. Additionally, Electric Entertainment owns and runs the online independent film magazine IF, which reports the entertainment industry's daily news.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television's destination for drama and one of cable's top-rated networks, offers original movies and series, including the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Golden Globe winner and Emmy(R) and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Kyra Sedgwick, and Saving Grace, a provocative new drama starring Oscar(R) winner and Screen Actors Guild Awards nominee Holly Hunter. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Law & Order, Without a Trace, Cold Case, ER and Charmed; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

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