A Royal Decree for Season Three! SHOWTIME's THE TUDORS Gets 3rd Season Pick-Up

New Season Follows King Henry as He Weds Jane Seymour and Anne of Cleves

LOS ANGELES, April 22 -- As episode six of THE TUDORS' second season debuts this coming Sunday on SHOWTIME, the network is ramping up for a third season of palace intrigue and royal drama, premiering in 2009. Production is slated to begin on June 16th in Dublin, Ireland with series star Jonathan Rhys Meyers set to return.

THE TUDORS took SHOWTIME subscribers and the media by storm when it premiered in April 2006, generating record viewership and critical acclaim. Last year, both the series and Rhys Meyers earned Golden Globe(R) nominations. And, season one of THE TUDORS is currently one of CBS Home Entertainment's top-selling titles.

"THE TUDORS is now a fixture for us at SHOWTIME and we're on our way to completing the entire saga of all six wives of Henry VIII," says SHOWTIME President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. "We are enormously proud of this show, the extraordinary cast, and the production team that recreates the grandeur of the Renaissance year in and year out. There is nothing like this anywhere on American television."

Viewers and critics alike have been enthralled watching the storied exploits of the sexy, hard-bodied King Henry VIII (Rhys Meyers) as he weds Anne Boleyn (Natalie Dormer) while working to declare his marriage invalid to Queen Katherine (Maria Doyle Kennedy). This prompts Pope Paul III (Peter O'Toole) to have him excommunicated -- a fall-out that changed the course of history. Anne's failure to deliver a male heir sets the wheels in motion for her beheading, and sends Henry straight into the arms of yet another prospect -- Jane Seymour (Anita Briem), who dies from an infection after finally giving him his coveted male heir.

THE TUDORS is an Ireland-Canada co-production, executive produced by Morgan O'Sullivan for Octagon Films; Benjamin Silverman and Teri Weinberg for Reveille Productions; Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan for Working Title Films, and Sheila Hockin; and is created, written and executive produced by Michael Hirst. SHOWTIME presents the series in association with Peace Arch Entertainment.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(R) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(R) XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(R) HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL(R) ON DEMAND. SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL(R), a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV(R).