Stephen Spielberg mega-series to air exclusively on FOXTEL

Media Release:  Thursday June 16, 2011

Stephen Spielberg mega-series to air exclusively on FOXTEL
FALLING SKIES
Special two-hour premiere event on
Thursday July 7 at 8.30pm on FOX8

FALLING SKIES, Steven Spielberg’s hotly anticipated new science fiction drama series starring Noah Wyle, will launch exclusively on FOX8 with a two-hour premiere on Thursday, July 7 at 8.30pm.

The 10-part series has been fast-tracked to Australia through distributors Turner International Australia, and will premiere on FOXTEL just weeks after its American debut. Robi Stanton, Executive Director Sales and Networks, Turner International Australia, said: “As leading content providers for the Australian market, we are very excited that FOXTEL viewers will be one of the first to view Stephen Spielberg’s outstanding new series.”

FALLING SKIES opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force.
At the centre of the series is Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), a Boston history professor whose family has been torn apart. His wife was killed in the initial attack, and one of his three sons has been captured. Determined to get his son back and to ensure the safety of his other two sons, Tom must put his extensive knowledge of military history to the test as one of the leaders of the resistance movement. They are constantly trying to gain intelligence about the aliens in order to one day outsmart and overtake them and hopefully rebuild their lives.
Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) co-stars as Anne Glass, a paediatrician who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic upheaval in their lives. Will Patton (Armageddon, Into the West) plays a fierce leader of the resistance, Weaver. The series also stars Drew Roy (Secretariat) as Hal, Tom's oldest son and a growing fighter in the resistance movement; Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom's youngest son; Connor Jessup (The Saddle Club) as Ben, Tom's son who was captured by aliens; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps Anne in the group's makeshift medical clinic. Colin Cunningham (Living in Your Car) is John Pope, the leader of an outlaw motorcycle gang and Sarah Carter (Shark) is Margaret, a wary survivor of Pope's gang.
FALLING SKIES focuses on the resilience of the survivors and their determination to maintain their humanity when all else has been destroyed. It is a tale of endurance, commitment and courage in which everyday people are called upon to become heroes. They may be outmatched, outnumbered and outgunned, but nothing can beat the human spirit. Most of all, the series is about the ties that bind people together in the most difficult of circumstances.
FALLING SKIES is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Graham Yost (Justified, The Pacific) and screenwriter Robert Rodat.  Rodat, who earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg.  Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica) and Greg Beeman (Heroes, Smallville) are co-executive producers.

Turner International Australia, distributor of FALLING SKIES, delivers premium content to the Australian market.  Part of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) a leader in the global television industry, the company’s portfolio of brands includes CNN International, Adult Swim, Boomerang, Cartoon Network, TCM Turner Classic Movies, TNT and WB.  TBS is a Time Warner company, a major producer of news and entertainment products around the world.