DENNIS HAYSBERT BEGINS FILMING STARRING ROLE IN NEW BBC AMERICA AND BBC ONE DRAMA "UNDERCOVER"

From award-winning screenwriter Peter Moffat, the bold new political thriller stars Golden Globe(R)-nominee Dennis Haysbert alongside Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo

New York - September 9, 2015 - BBC AMERICA and BBC One announced today that Dennis Haysbert (24, The Unit, Far From Heaven) has been cast in the new co-produced drama series, Undercover. The original six-part political thriller is the first co-developed series under the wide-ranging, creative partnership between BBC Worldwide and AMC Networks, and will be distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide. Slated for premiere on BBC AMERICA and BBC One in 2016, Undercover is currently filming in Louisiana and the UK. Today marks Haysbert's first day on set.

Starring opposite Sophie Okonedo (Criminal Justice, The Secret Life of Bees, Hotel Rwanda) and Adrian Lester (Red Band Society, London Spy, Primary Colors), Dennis Haysbert plays Rudy Jones - a man who has been on death row for twenty years, falsely imprisoned for murder. Maya (Okonedo) can only watch as her dearest friend and client refuses to go quietly, urging her to fight the deep-grained injustices that have tainted two decades of his life. Truths will emerge and Maya and her husband Nick's (Lester) lives will change forever.

Bold and gripping, Undercover takes on controversial and challenging issues that impact society on a global scale, with the narrative intercut over different decades, concurrently unfolding in both the US and UK. The new series follows Maya, who is about to become the first African-American Director of Public Prosecutions, the highest ranking public prosecutor role in England. But just as Maya's life comes under intense public scrutiny she discovers that Nick, her husband and the father of her children, has been lying to her for years. Twenty years ago Nick was a fearless and dedicated undercover officer, infiltrating organizations considered a danger to society because of their political beliefs. Nick built himself a fake past, but now with his wife suspecting and his conscience killing him, his secret identity may end up compromising his wife's new career. Is Nick concealing an affair, or is it something altogether more sinister? If Maya digs up his real past will she jeopardize her own future? What price do you pay for uncovering lies? And who wants her in the top job, and why?

Undercover is created by acclaimed writer Peter Moffat (Silk, Criminal Justice) and executive produced by Hilary Salmon, Head of BBC Drama Production England, for BBC One and BBC AMERICA. Salmon previously worked with Moffat on his hit legal series Silk, as well as the BAFTA-winning Criminal Justice. Undercover is directed by James Hawes (Penny Dreadful, Enid) and Jim O'Hanlon (In the Flesh, Emma), with Richard Stokes (Broadchurch, Silk) producing.

BBC AMERICA delivers U.S. audiences high-quality, innovative and intelligent programming. Established in 1998, it has been the launch pad for talent embraced by American mainstream pop culture, including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, Graham Norton, and successful programming formats including ground-breaking non-scripted television like Top Gear and top-rated science-fiction like Doctor Who. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and AMC Networks, BBC AMERICA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including four Emmy(R) Awards, five Golden Globes(R) and 12 Peabody Awards. The channel attracts one of cable's most affluent and educated audiences and is available on cable and satellite TV in nearly 80 million homes. It broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, with content available On Demand across all major digital platforms. Online, www.BBCAmerica.com is the place to go to dig deeper into pop culture with a British twist.