STARZ ADDS MICHAEL NYQVIST, NAZANIN BONIADI, NICHOLAS PINNOCK AND SARA SERRAIOCCO TO SPY THRILLER "COUNTERPART"

Beverly Hills, Calif. -October 26, 2016 - Starz announced today that Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, John Wick, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), Nazanin Boniadi ("Homeland," Ben-Hur, Hotel Mumbai), Nicholas Pinnock (Captain America: The First Avenger, "Marcella," "A.D. The Bible Continues") and Sara Serraiocco (Salvo, Cloro, Worldly Girl) have been cast as series regulars in STARZ Original series "Counterpart" from MRC, Anonymous Content and Gilbert Films.

The espionage thriller with a metaphysical twist stars Oscar(R) winner JK Simmons (Whiplash, The Accountant, Juno), Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense, Hyde Park on Hudson, "Manhattan") and Harry Lloyd (The Theory of Everything, Jane Eyre, "Manhattan"). Academy Award(R) nominee Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game, Passengers) will direct the first episode.

"Counterpart" is the story of Howard Silk (JK Simmons), a lowly cog in a bureaucratic agency, who discovers that the agency he works for is really guarding a crossing into a parallel dimension. Through Howard and his "Counterpart" on the other side, the show will navigate themes of identity, what ifs and lost love. Starz ordered two seasons of 10 episodes each of "Counterpart" in 2015.

Michael Nyqvist will portray Chekhov, the hardened Director of Operations at Howard's agency and a strange mix of philosopher and spy. With an impressive body of work spanning the course of two decades, Nyqvist has evolved into one of Sweden's most respected and accomplished actors of his generation. Over the last few years, Nyqvist has made the successful transition into American cinema. Film credits include The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, John Wick, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Disconnect. He will next be seen in Frank & Lola, which will hit U.S. theaters in December. He is repped by Authentic Talent & Literary Management, ICM Partners and Sweden's Agentfirman.

Nazanin Boniadi will play Clare, an enigmatic young woman of curious origin, who becomes a major lynchpin as the season develops. Boniadi is currently shooting Hotel Mumbai with Dev Patel and Armie Hammer for director Anthony Maras. Additional film and television credits include "Homeland," Ben-Hur, 'Scandal," and "How I Met Your Mother." For two seasons, Boniadi co-starred as CIA analyst Fara Sherazi on the Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R) award-winning drama "Homeland," for which she shared a 2015 SAG(R) Award nomination in the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series category. Most recently, Boniadi co-starred as Esther opposite Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman in the MGM-Paramount remake of Ben-Hur. Among her many television credits, Boniadi portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of "How I Met Your Mother." She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama "Scandal." Boniadi is repped by ICM Partners, Jordan Lee Talent and Stone, Genow, Smelkinson, Binder & Christopher, LLP.

Nicholas Pinnock will play Ian Shaw, an aggressive operative and watchdog whose job is to ensure an uneasy peace between both dimensions. Earlier this year, Pinnock was seen in History's 4-part series "Barbarians Rising" in the role of Hannibal. He also recently starred in ITV 1's crime drama "Marcella" as the male lead alongside Anna Friel, Laura Carmichael and Sinead Cusack in the 8-part drama. Pinnock returns to the stage later this year for his second round in "The Royale," reprising the role of Jay Jackson. Other film and television credits include Captain America: The First Avenger and "A.D. The Bible Continues." Pinnock is repped by Jeff Golenberg at Silver Lining Entertainment.

Sara Serraiocco will play Baldwin, a mysterious assassin whose life takes on a new purpose when she is exposed to the other side. The Italian-born actress landed the lead role in the acclaimed film Salvo in 2013, winning the Globo d'oro award for best actress and the lead role in Cloro in 2015 for which she received the best actress nomination. Serraiocco won the Pasinetti Award at the Venice Film Festival 2016 for her lead role in the movie La Ragazza del Mondo (aka Worldly Girl), directed by Marco Danieli. In 2016 Sara was chosen as a European Shooting Star, winning the prestigious award as one of the European newcomers of the year at the Berlinale Film Festival. Serraiocco is repped by Robin Hudson and Gavin Mills at UK-based Olivia Bell Management and Italian agency Officine Artistiche.

Created and written by Justin Marks (The Jungle Book), "Counterpart" is executive produced by Tyldum and Marks with Amy Berg ("Da Vinci's Demons"), Gary Gilbert (La La Land) with Gilbert Films, Jordan Horowitz (La La Land), Keith Redmon (The Revenant) and Bard Dorros (Spotlight) with Anonymous Content. Simmons also serves as a producer.

Casting by Jeanne McCarthy, Nicole Abellera, and Leslie Woo from McCarthy/Abellera.

About Starz

Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television networks (Starz Networks) and global content distribution (Starz Distribution), www.starz.com. The Starz Networks operating unit is home to the flagship STARZ(R) brand with 24.2 million subscribers in the United States as of June 30, 2016, with the STARZ ENCORESM network at 31.8 million subscribers. Through STARZ, the company provides high quality, entertaining premium subscription video programming with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online services. STARZ is sold through U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and digital platforms. Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000 distinct premium television episodes and feature films every year and up to 1,500 every month, including STARZ Original series, first-run movies and other popular movie and television programming. The Starz Distribution operating unit is home to the Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Digital, and Starz Worldwide Distribution divisions. In addition to STARZ Original series, Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires movies, television and other entertainment content for worldwide home video, digital, and television licensing and sales.