MARK DUPLASS, JEREMY BOBB, LYNN COLLINS, KATJA HERBERS, AND BRÍAN F. O'BYRNE JOIN DISCOVERY'S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED SCRIPTED SERIES 'MANIFESTO'
Produced by Lionsgate and Trigger Street Productions,
Filming Starts in Atlanta on January 30
(LOS ANGELES and SANTA MONICA) - Discovery Channel announced today that Mark Duplass ("Togetherness," "Blue Jay"), Jeremy Bobb ("The Knick," "Godless"), Lynn Collins ("X-Men Origins: Wolverine"), Katja Herbers ("Manhattan," "The Leftovers"), and Brían F. O'Byrne ("Mildred Pierce," "Aquarius") have been cast in its upcoming highly-anticipated scripted series MANIFESTO, set to air this year. Produced by John Goldwyn, serving as consultant to Discovery, Lionsgate, Trigger Street Productions and Discovery Channel, the series will tell the story of how FBI agent Jim "Fitz" Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington, "Avatar," "Hacksaw Ridge") deployed a radical approach to intelligence gathering to take down Ted Kaczynski, portrayed by Paul Bettany ("Gangster No. 1," "Captain America: Civil War"), also known as the "Unabomber," one of the most infamous criminal masterminds in the world. Emmy(R) Award-winning television producer and director Greg Yaitanes ("Quarry," "Banshee") will executive produce, direct and serve as showrunner. Andrew Sodroski, whose "Holland, Michigan" topped Hollywood's famed Black List for screenplays in 2013, created the series and serves as an Executive Producer. Jim Fitzgerald will serve as Consulting Producer.
Mark Duplass has been cast as David Kaczynski, Ted Kaczynski's younger brother. He is joined by Jeremy Bobb as Stan Cole, a seasoned FBI agent and Ackerman's "foul-mouthed pit bull"; Lynn Collins playing Natalie, a post-doc in linguistics at Stanford; Katja Herbers as Linda, David Kaczinski's wife; and Brian F. O'Byrne as Frank McAlpine, the FBI's master profiler and Fitzgerald's professor who leads the Behavioral Analysis Unit.
Discovery also recently announced Golden Globe and two-time Emmy winner Jane Lynch ("Glee," "Hollywood Game Night") will play the role of former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. Other cast includes Golden Globe(R) nominee Chris Noth ("The Good Wife," "Sex In The City") who plays Don Ackerman, the Bay Area Divisional Head of the FBI, who supervised the Unabomber Task Force; and Oscar(R) nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes ("Roadies," "Game of Thrones") as Tabby, a street agent who partners with Fitz. This series features both Bettany and Worthington's first major leading roles on U.S. television.
Mark Duplass is an award-winning actor, filmmaker and producer. In 2014, Mark and his brother, Jay, created the critically acclaimed television series "Togetherness" in which Mark also starred. In 2015, the Duplass Brothers signed a first-look television deal with HBO and also inked a multi-film deal with Netflix for the production of their independent work. Mark's credits include: Alexander Lehmann's romantic drama "Blue Jay," Lynn Shelton's Gotham-award winning "Your Sister's Sister," Charlie McDowell's sci-fi romance "The One I Love," Patrick Brice's horror-comedy "Creep," Colin Trevorrow's Independent Spirit award-winning "Safety Not Guaranteed," the Sundance sensation "Humpday" and Katherine Bigelow's Oscar-winning "Zero Dark Thirty."
Jeremy Bobb is best known for his performance as hospital administrator 'Herman Barrow' in Stephen Soderbergh's "The Knick" opposite Clive Owen and Eve Hewson. Next up, Bobb will be seen in Scott Frank's western mini-series "Godless" for Netflix, Stephen Soderbergh's ambitious "Mosaic" for HBO, and a Thurgood Marshall biopic with Chad Boseman.
Lynn Collins played the female lead of 'Kayla Silverfox' in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." Her breakthrough role came as 'Portia' opposite Al Pacino in the acclaimed film adaptation of "The Merchant of Venice." Her independent credits include the role of 'Anna' opposite Channing Tatum in Jamie Linden's "10 Years" as well as the lead role of 'Cindy' opposite Jeremy Piven in "Waska." She followed that with recurring roles on HBO's "True Blood" as 'Dawn Green' and USA's "Covert Affairs" as 'Olga'. Lynn can next be seen in "Hollow Point," alongside Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, and Patrick Wilson.
Katja Herbers is a Dutch actress who just recently filmed a recurring arc on HBO's "The Leftovers," recurred on FX's "The Americans" and was a series regular for two seasons on the critically acclaimed WGN drama "Manhattan" produced by Thomas Schlamme and Sam Shaw.
Brían F. O'Byrne last starred as Ken Karn in the NBC series "Aquarius" and will next be seen co-starring as Allan Pinkerton in season two of "Mercy Street." In the UK, he recently completed the ITV mini-series "Little Boy Blue" opposite Stephen Graham. O'Byrne starred opposite Kate Winslet in his Emmy-nominated role in "Mildred Pierce." His other television credits include "Saints & Strangers," "Prime Suspect," "FlashForward," "Brotherhood" and the acclaimed Irish series "Love/Hate." O'Byrne's film credits include the critically acclaimed film "Million Dollar Baby," "Medeas," "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," "Brooklyn's Finest" and "The International." He also starred in "Jimmy's Hall" and "Queen and Country," both of which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
Production starts in Atlanta on January 30, 2017.
About Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 224 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. For 30 years Discovery has been dedicated to satisfying curiosity and entertaining viewers with high-quality content through its global television brands, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery controls Eurosport, the leading pan-regional sports entertainment destination across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.
About Lionsgate
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.
With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving nearly 25 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with over 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the STARZ app delivering content directly to consumers.
One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate's slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the acclaimed drama The Royals, the Golden Globe-nominated Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf and hit Starz series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor's Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016. www.lionsgate.com
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