EPIX® LANDS URBAN MYTH FILMS’ REIMAGINING OF

WAR OF THE WORLDS

Eight-Part Series To Premiere February 16 At 9pm

 

New York, NY – November 21, 2019 – Premium network EPIX announced that it will premiere the Gabriel Byrne and Elizabeth McGovern-led drama series, War of the Worlds, exclusively to US audiences on February 16, 2020 at 9pm.

The eagerly-anticipated, contemporary reimaging of H.G. Wells timeless classic is created and written by BAFTA award-winning writer Howard Overman and produced by Urban Myth Films, in partnership with CANAL+, Fox Networks Group (FNG) Europe & Africa and AGC Television.

War of the Worlds features a critically acclaimed ensemble cast including Gabriel Byrne, Elizabeth McGovern, Léa Drucker, Natasha Little, Daisy Edgar Jones, Stéphane Caillard, Adel Bencherif and Guillaume Gouix. Gilles Coulier (De Dag, Cargo, The Natives) directs the first four episodes with Richard Clark (Innocent; Versailles) directing episodes five to eight.

Said Michael Wright, President, EPIX, “We at EPIX are thrilled to be working with the teams at Urban Myth and Studiocanal to showcase Howard Overman’s masterful take on this classic story. We can’t wait to bring this cinematic and addictive series to our audience.”

Executive producers for UMF Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps added, “Cinematic, with all the mystery, intrigue and action of the best science fiction, this fresh interpretation is a character drama that considers the myriad fears of today’s world and how potential threats may only be overcome by harnessing our own humanity.”

Set-in present-day Europe, War of the Worlds is a multi-faceted series, based on the story by H.G. Wells. When astronomers detect a transmission from another galaxy, it is definitive proof of intelligent extra-terrestrial life. The world’s population waits for further contact with baited breath. They do not have to wait long. Within days, mankind is all but wiped out; just pockets of humanity are left in an eerily deserted world.

As alien ships appear in the sky, the survivors ask a burning question – who are these attackers and why are they hell-bent on our destruction? This is a story of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances – but they are more than just victims in a brutal war. For, as we will come to realize, the aliens’ savage attack on earth is not arbitrary: its seeds are being sown before our very eyes.

The drama series is executive produced by Howard Overman, Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps for Urban Myth Films.

The deal with EPIX was brokered by CAA on behalf of AGC Television.
 

ABOUT EPIX
EPIX®, an MGM company, is a premium television network delivering a broad line-up of quality original series and documentaries, the latest movie releases and classic film franchises – all available on TV, on demand, online and across devices. EPIX® has tripled the amount of original programming on the network and has become a destination for original premium content with series including Godfather of Harlem, starring and executive produced by Forest Whitaker; Pennyworth, the origin story of Batman’s butler Alfred; Perpetual Grace, LTD, starring Sir Ben Kingsley; Get Shorty, featuring Chris O’Dowd and Ray Romano; spy thriller Deep State; and docu-series NFL: The Grind, from NFL Films and hosted by Rich Eisen; and PUNK from John Varvatos and Iggy Pop; as well as upcoming premieres of new series Belgravia, from Julian Fellowes, Gareth Naeme and the creative team from Downton Abbey; docu-series Slow Burn based on the hit podcast and the two-part music docuseries Laurel Canyon. Launched in October 2009, EPIX® is available nationwide through cable, telco, satellite and emerging digital distribution platforms as well as through its EPIX NOW app, providing more movies than any other network with thousands of titles available for streaming.

For more information about EPIX, go to www.EPIX.com. Follow EPIX on Twitter @EpixHd (http://www.twitter.com/EpixHD) and on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EPIX), YouTube (http://youtube.com/EPIX), Instagram (http://instagram.com/EPIX) and Snapchat @EPIXTV.

 

About Urban Myth
Urban Myth Films was set up by International Emmy award-winning producers Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy, and BAFTA award-winning writer Howard Overman (Misfits), to create bold television drama for the international market.

They produced the multi-award-winning Merlin for BBC1, which ran for five series until 2012 and was sold to over 180 countries worldwide, as well as the critically acclaimed Atlantis for BBC1 and BBC America, and cult teen show Crazyhead for Channel 4 and Netflix. Their recent six-part true-crime drama, A Confession (written by Jeff Pope for ITV and starring Martin Freeman) was hailed as one of 2019’s best dramas, achieving huge ratings and critical success. Urban Myth Films were the first British production company to produce a Creation Originale for Canal+, War of the Worlds, and it has already broken all viewing records for the channel. They are currently in production for The One, a gripping 8-part drama series for Netflix, written and created by Howard Overman.
 

About STUDIOCANAL
STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and TV series, operating directly in all three major European markets – France, the United Kingdom and Germany – as well as in Australia and New Zealand.

STUDIOCANAL is actively developing and distributing high-end TV series through its network of award-winning European production companies, including TANDEM in Germany (SHADOWPLAY), the UK’s RED Production Company (Years and Years), Spain’s BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES (On Death Row) and France’s STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL (Mouche). STUDIOCANAL is also an associate of Danish-based SAM Productions founded by Søren Sveistrup and Adam Price (Ride Upon The Storm) as well as of UK-based GUILTY PARTY PICTURES; Benedict Cumberbatch’s production company SUNNYMARCH TV (Patrick Melrose) and URBAN MYTH FILMS (War of the Worlds).
 

About The Walt Disney Company EMEA
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in four business segments: Media Networks; Parks, Experiences and Products; Studio Entertainment; and Direct-to-Consumer and International. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $59.4 billion in its last fiscal year (FY18).

Seeking to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, The Walt Disney Company has been in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for over 80 years, employing thousands of people across the region and reaching consumers in more than 130 countries. The Walt Disney Company’s iconic brands – including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, FOX, FOX Sports and ESPN – are experienced diversely across the region in cinemas, on TV screens, online, at retail, in Disney Stores and at Disneyland Paris.
 

About AGC STUDIOS
AGC Studios was founded and launched by Chairman and CEO Stuart Ford in February 2018 as a platform to develop, produce, finance and globally license a diverse portfolio of feature films, scripted, unscripted and factual television, digital and musical content from its dual headquarters in Los Angeles and London. The new studio’s Hollywood output has a wide-ranging multicultural focus, designed for exploitation across an array of global platforms including major studio partnerships, streaming platforms, traditional broadcast and cable television networks and independent distributors, both in the US and internationally.

AGC Studios is initially backed by three key strategic investors: Latin American private asset management firm MediaNet Partners; Image Nation Abu Dhabi, one of the leading media and entertainment companies in the Arabic-speaking world; and leading Silicon Valley entrepreneur and chairman of Fibonacci Films, Greg Clark. Chief Operating Officer Miguel Palos is also a stakeholder in and co-founder of the business with Ford.

AGC Studios has three principal operating subsidiaries covering production, distribution and finance. AGC Productions develops and produces a diverse multicultural slate of mainstream English language feature film and TV projects. Aside from traditional Hollywood output, dedicated sub-divisions within AGC Productions is focused on generating material for Latino and Urban audiences as well as music-driven IP. The television output will include scripted series, unscripted and reality projects, factual content and content specifically created for digital platforms. AGC International operates a substantial international film and television licensing and distribution platform, building on Ford and his management team’s lengthy track record at the forefront of licensing content to major studios, independent studios, broadcasters and streaming platforms globally. Finally, AGC Capital provides development, production and post-production financing to both AGC Productions’ output as well as to select third-party produced film and TV productions via a portfolio of equity, senior and mezzanine debt, soft money and bridge-capital financial products.

War of the Worlds executive producers for AGC are Stuart Ford, Lourdes Diaz and Miguel Palos Jr.