Five USA Justifies New Drama Series
Five USA has acquired the exclusive UK rights to the new smash hit American action drama series, Justified, it was announced today (THUR).
The 13 episode drama, from Sony Pictures Television (SPT), stars Timothy Olyphant as the US Deputy Raylan Givens, a character created by the famous crime novelist Elmore Leonard.
Justified will debut in prime time on Five USA in April 2010. Its premiere in the US on FX this week made it the channel’s most watched debut since The Shield (eight years ago) with 4.15 million tuning in, and US critics dubbing it “..one of the best new shows of the upcoming year” (Entertainment Weekly) and “..terrifically entertaining new instant classic.” (TV Guide). Entertainment Weekly TV critic also added “I knew from this moment on that I’d fallen in love with a new TV show.”
Jeff Ford Managing Director of Acquisitions and Digital Channels said: “I’m delighted to announce this fantastic addition to the Five USA schedule. Olyphant is an excellent lead and has the same, compelling presence as Clint Eastwood in the classic Coogan’s Bluff. This exclusive acquisition bolsters the strong schedule and reaffirms that Five USA is the place to come for quality American drama on British TV.”
Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant- Damages, Hitman, Live Free or Die Hard) was born and raised in the hill country of eastern Kentucky. But at age 19, he ran away to Harlan, determined to become a U.S. Marshal. Now, several years later, after shooting a gun thug in a Miami hotel and thereby incurring the wrath of his Marshals Service superiors, Raylan has been sent in punishment to the one place to which he vowed he would never return – Kentucky.
Back in Kentucky, Raylan is confronted with many ghosts from his past; Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins - The Shield), his old friend and fellow coal-miner, and now fugitive bank-robber; Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter - Monk, CSI: Miami), the cheerleader from his youth he always had a crush on; ex-wife Winona (Natalie Zea - Hung, Dirty Sexy Money); and looming largest of all in Raylan’s past is his career criminal father, Arlo (Raymond Barry - Cold Case, Training Day).
The character of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens was created by America’s pre-eminent crime novelist Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out of Sight) and is played by Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood, Live Free or Die Hard). The Chief Deputy of the Lexington U.S.M.S. office is Art Mullen, played by Nick Searcy (Cast Away, From the Earth to the Moon). Working alongside Raylan are fellow deputies Tim Gutterson, played by Jacob Pitts (The Pacific), and Rachel Brooks, played by Erica Tazel (Life, The Office).
Justified was developed for series television by Executive Producers Graham Yost (Boomtown, The Pacific), Michael Dinner (Karen Sisco, Sons of Anarchy), Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly (Kidnapped) and Elmore Leonard.
The series, distributed internationally by SPT, will air on Five USA in April 2010.
For further information please contact Ruth Johnston at Five on 020 7550 5580 or ruth.johnston@five.tv
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