"HALO" ECLIPSES PARAMOUNT+'S ALL-TIME VIEWERSHIP RECORD GLOBALLY

Series Becomes the Service's Most Watched Original Series Ever in First 24 Hours

New Episodes of HALO Stream Weekly on Thursdays, Exclusively on Paramount+

Series Produced by SHOWTIME(R) in Association with 343 Industries and Amblin Television

MARCH 25, 2022 - Paramount+ today announced that its latest original series, HALO, based on the iconic Xbox franchise, has broken a new record as the service's most-watched series premiere of all-time in the U.S. and internationally.

"Bringing HALO to life as a streaming series has been one of the most rewarding efforts for Paramount+ to date and we could not be more thrilled at the massive fan response to the series' debut," said Tanya Giles, Chief Programming Officer, Paramount+. "Along with our phenomenal partners at SHOWTIME, 343 Industries and Amblin Television, we cannot wait for fans to experience more of this incredible universe."

The series, which has already been renewed for a second season, takes place in the universe that first debuted in 2001 with the launch of Xbox(R)'s first "Halo" game. Dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant, HALO the series will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.

The series stars Pablo Schreiber ("American Gods") as the Master Chief, Spartan-117; Natascha McElhone ("Californication") as Dr. Halsey, the brilliant, conflicted and inscrutable creator of the Spartan super soldiers; and Jen Taylor ("Halo" game series, RWBY) as Cortana, the most advanced AI in human history, and potentially the key to the survival of the human race. Additional stars include Bokeem Woodbine ("Fargo"), Shabana Azmi ("Fire"), Natasha Culzac ("The Witcher"), Olive Gray ("Half Moon Investigations"), Yerin Ha ("Reef Break"), Bentley Kalu ("Avengers: Age of Ultron"), Kate Kennedy ("Catastrophe"), Charlie Murphy ("Peaky Blinders") and Danny Sapani ("Penny Dreadful"). Also joining the cast as original characters are Ryan McParland ("6Degrees"), Burn Gorman ("The Expanse") and Fiona O'Shaughnessy ("Nina Forever").

"Halo" reinvented how people think about video games and has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, having sold more than 82 million copies worldwide and grossing more than $6 billion in lifetime total sales revenue.

HALO is produced by SHOWTIME(R) in association with 343 Industries, along with Amblin Television. The first season of HALO is executive produced by Steven Kane, alongside Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television in partnership with 343 Industries, Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture, and Kyle Killen and Scott Pennington for Chapter Eleven. Kiki Wolfkill, Frank O'Connor and Bonnie Ross serve as executive producers for 343 Industries. The series is distributed internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

About Paramount+:

Paramount+, a direct-to-consumer digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service, combines live sports, breaking news, and a mountain of entertainment. The premium streaming service features an expansive library of original series, hit shows and popular movies across every genre from world-renowned brands and production studios, including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and the Smithsonian Channel. The service is also the streaming home to unmatched sports programming, including every CBS Sports event, from golf to football to basketball and more, plus exclusive streaming rights for major sports properties, including some of the world's biggest and most popular soccer leagues. Paramount+ also enables subscribers to stream local CBS stations live across the U.S. in addition to the ability to stream CBSN for 24/7 news, CBS Sports HQ for sports news and analysis, and ET Live for entertainment coverage. For more information about Paramount+, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlus on social platforms.

About SHOWTIME:

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc., owns and operates the premium service SHOWTIME(R), which features critically acclaimed original series, provocative documentaries, box-office hit films, comedy and music specials and hard-hitting sports. SHOWTIME is available as a stand-alone streaming service across all major streaming devices and Showtime.com, as well as via cable, DBS, telco and streaming video providers. SNI also operates the premium services THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as on demand versions of all three brands. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV(R). For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

About Amblin Television:

Amblin Television, a long-time leader in quality programming, is a division of Amblin Partners, a content creation company led by Steven Spielberg. Amblin Television's Presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, oversee all development, production and programming for the company. Amblin Television currently has twelve projects in various stages of production and release including season two of "Resident Alien" for SYFY, "Halo" and "Fatal Attraction" for Paramount+, "Billy the Kid" for Epix, "Masters of the Air" for Apple, a third season of "Animaniacs" for Hulu, season four of "Roswell, New Mexico" for The CW, two seasons of "Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai" for HBO Max, two seasons of "Tiny Toons Looniversity" for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, and documentaries "Big Vape" for Netflix, "Good Night Oppy" for Amazon Prime Video, and "Mama's Boy" an adaptation of Oscar-winner Dustin Lance Black's autobiography. Amblin Television also produced the Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody Award-winning drama "The Americans" for FX, the Golden Globe-nominated and double Emmy Award-winning mini-series "Into the West" for TNT, Emmy-winning documentary series "Why We Hate" for Discovery, the Emmy-nominated HBO movie "All The Way" starring Bryan Cranston, "Smash" for NBC, "Under the Dome" for CBS, "Falling Skies" for TNT, "The Borgias," "The United States of Tara" for Showtime, and "Las Vegas" for NBC. For more information, go to www.amblin.com.

About 343 Industries:

343 Industries is the developer of the blockbuster Halo series of video games and, as part of Xbox Game Studios, oversees the Halo franchise including games, original programming, novels, comics, licensed collectibles, apparel and more. "Halo Infinite," the studio's most recent game release, has achieved critical success, receiving over 60 industry awards and is the most successful game release in Halo franchise history. The studio continues to transform entertainment experiences across the Halo universe with groundbreaking projects, such as the now streaming "Halo" television series for Paramount+, in partnership with SHOWTIME and Amblin Entertainment.