MEKHI PHIFER AND ELIZA COUPE JUMP INTO "HOUSE OF LIES"

Will Play Big Business Moguls on the hit SHOWTIME(R) Comedy Series' Third Season, Premiering January 12th at 10 pm ET/PT

LOS ANGELES, CA (September 12, 2013) - Noted actors Mekhi Phifer (Lie to Me, ER) and Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings, Scrubs) are the first guest stars to sign on to the third season of the hit SHOWTIME comedy series HOUSE OF LIES. Production on season three starts in September for a January 12, 2014 at 10 pm ET/PT premiere on the network. Both actors will play high-powered business moguls in recurring roles: Phifer will star as "Dre," a successful entrepreneur and clothing company founder who hires Marty (series star and executive producer Don Cheadle in his Golden Globe(R) Award-winning and two-time Emmy(R)-nominated role) to help expand his empire, while Coupe will star as "Marissa," a wild-child internet company head and heir to a wealthy media family.

Mekhi Phifer was most recently seen on television in the drama series Torchwood and Lie To Me. He received two NAACP Image Awards for his work as "Dr. Gregory Pratt" on the long-running series ER. He previously starred opposite Cheadle and Oscar nominee Cicely Tyson (and earned an additional NAACP Image Award nomination) for the original film A Lesson before Dying. Additional television credits include White Collar, Homicide: Life on the Street and New York Undercover. In film, Phifer made his acting debut as the lead in Spike Lee's Clockers and later starred opposite Eminem and Kim Basinger in Curtis Hanson's critically-acclaimed film 8 Mile, followed by O, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and Soul Food. Phifer also produced, directed and starred in the 2007 film Puff, Puff, Pass, with Danny Masterson, John C. McGinley and Terry Crews. He will next be seen on film in Divergent, based on the popular book series by Veronica Roth. Phifer is repped by Gersh and Brookside Artist Management.

Eliza Coupe (Scrubs, Shanghai Calling) was seen most recently on the fan favorite comedy series, Happy Endings. She just wrapped the indie feature The Last Time You Had Fun, directed by Mo Perkins and also starring Kyle Bornheimer, Demetri Martin, and Mary Elizabeth Ellis. She will also be appearing in a recurring role as Nathan Miller's (Will Arnett) ex-wife on the upcoming CBS comedy series The Millers. Coupe is represented by CAA, Kirsten Ames Management and Jeff Bernstein at Jackoway Tyerman.

HOUSE OF LIES is the hit half-hour comedy series from the hit tell-all book House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn. It's a scathing look at a self-loathing management consultant from a top-tier firm. Don Cheadle (Iron Man 3) stars as Marty, a highly-successful, cutthroat consultant who is never above using any means (or anyone) necessary to get his way with and for his clients. Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) plays a razor-sharp, Ivy-League graduate who works on Marty's team, along with Emmy winner Ben Schwartz (Parks & Recreation) and Josh Lawson (Romantically Challenged); Dawn Olivieri (Vampire Diaries, Heroes) is Marty's acerbic ex-wife; Emmy winner Glynn Turman (In Treatment) is his psychoanalyst father; and Donis Leonard Jr. (His Good Will) rounds out the cast as Marty's pre-teen son. Produced by SHOWTIME, HOUSE OF LIES is created and executive produced by Matthew Carnahan. Jessika Borsiczky, Stephen Hopkins, Don Cheadle and David Walpert also serve as executive producers.