SUNDANCE CHANNEL ANNOUNCES CASTING FOR "THE HONOURABLE WOMAN"

Eight Part Mini-Series Starring Academy Award (R) Nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal Begins Production

Stellar Cast Includes: Stephen Rea, Janet McTeer, Lubna Azbal, Eve Best, Lindsay Duncan, Andrew Buchan, Katherine Parkinson, Tobias Menzies, Genevieve O'Reilly and Igal Naor, Among Others

New York, NY, July 29, 2013 - Cameras start rolling this week for eighteen weeks on Sundance Channel's upcoming fast paced, labyrinthine thriller written and directed by BAFTA(R) winner Hugo Blick, THE HONOURABLE WOMAN. A stellar international cast join Academy Award nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal, playing the titular role (Nessa Stein) in the eight part mini-series. The production will shoot throughout the UK and Morocco.

Today's casting news comes shortly after Sundance Channel's recent breakthrough with ten Emmy(R) nominations for its original scripted mini-series Top of the Lake and Restless.

Joining Gyllenhaal is Stephen Rea (The Shadow Line, Father & Son, V for Vendetta), a stalwart of British film and Academy Award nominee, as Hugh Hayden-Hoyle - a top M16 spy on the verge of retirement, digging deep into Nessa Stein's family. His bitter ex-wife Anjelica is played by Lindsay Duncan (The Hollow Crown, White Heat).

Oscar and Tony award nominee Janet McTeer (Damages, Albert Nobbs) plays the Head of MI6 Julia Walsh - who has a personal hold over Hayden-Hoyle (Rea).

Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch, Garrow's Law, The Fixer ) will play Nessa Stein's (Gyllenhaal) brother Ephra Stein - seemingly over-shadowed by his sister within the Stein family business. He is joined by BAFTA award nominee Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Sherlock) as his highly strung pregnant wife Rachel Stein.

British theatre and television actress Eve Best (Nurse Jackie, The King's Speech) is Monica Chatwin, a key MI6 agent from the Washington Bureau - spoiling for a fight with her UK counterparts.

Multi-award winning Belgian actress Lubna Azbal (Incendies, Occupation, Paradise Now, Body of Lies) plays Atika Halibi, nanny to Ephra and Rachel Stein's two young daughters and close friend to Nessa.

Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones, Rome, The Shadow Line) has previously worked with Gyllenhaal on the film Hysteria, and this time plays opposite her as Nessa's trusted personal body guard Nathaniel Bloom. Genevieve O'Reilly (Spooks, Episodes) plays Nessa's loyal personal assistant Frances.

Israeli actor Igal Naor (300: Rise Of An Empire, Green Zone) received international acclaim for his portrayal of Saddam Hussein in House of Saddam and plays Shlomo Zahary, a close long-time ally of the Stein family

Other cast includes: Martin Hutson, Nicholas Woodeson, Raad Rawi, Richard Katz, Philip Arditti, John Mackay, Rupert Frazer, Uriel Emil, Paul Herzberg, George Georgiou, Julia Montgomery-Brown, Marin McDougall, Aiden Stephenson, Tom Bateman, Amira Ghazalla, Hugh Ross and Stephen Boxer.

With a cast of nearly 100, The Honourable Woman is a co-production made by Sundance Channel, Drama Republic and Hugo Blick's Eight Rooks Productions. The mini-series is set to broadcast on Sundance Channel in the US and BBC Two in the UK in 2014.

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Sundance Channel is the destination for What's Next, Now. Showcasing both today's creative icons and the emerging talent of tomorrow, Sundance Channel tells bold stories with a fresh point of view. In addition to award winning films, Sundance Channel is home to daring new original programming. Launched in 1996 and owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc., Sundance Channel provides perspectives dedicated to founder Robert Redford's mission to celebrate creativity.

About AMC Networks Inc.

Dedicated to producing quality programming and movie content for more than 30 years, AMC Networks Inc. owns and operates several of the most popular and award-winning brands in cable television. AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv, and IFC Films produce and deliver distinctive, compelling and culturally relevant content that engages audiences across multiple platforms. The company also operates AMC/Sundance Channel Global, an international programming business, and AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology, a full-service network programming feed origination and distribution company.