AMC announced today that David Schwimmer ("American Crime Story," "Band of Brothers," "Friends") and Jim Sturgess (21, Across the Universe, Cloud Atlas) will star in the network's upcoming original series FEED THE BEAST. A co-production between AMC Studios and Lionsgate, based on the Danish series "Bankerot," the series will be adapted by writer/showrunner Clyde Phillips ("Dexter," "Nurse Jackie"), who also serves as executive producer. "Feed the Beast" is a drama about two best friends, Tommy Moran (Schwimmer), and Dion Patras (Sturgess) who take one last shot at their dream of opening a restaurant. Production will begin in New York City in February 2016 and the 10 one-hour episodes are set to premiere in May 2016.
"Feed the Beast" tells the story of Tommy (Schwimmer) and Dion (Sturgess) who are like brothers. With all the love - and all the
COMPLICATIONS - that comes with it. Dion can't stay out of trouble. Tommy can't move past it. For two friends on the brink of losing everything, a dusty pipe dream of opening up an upscale restaurant in their hometown of the Bronx is all they have left to turn their lives around. They push each other to follow through on their dreams, welcome love into their lives, and overcome their demons. They also betray, backstab, manipulate and coerce each other into the most dangerous situations imaginable. For Tommy, a successful haute Hellenic restaurant is his means to give his son a life he never had. For Dion, this venture is a perfect opportunity to secretly repay his debt to the Mob. Together, they take on the insanity of the New York restaurant world, and navigate its underbelly of petty criminals, corrupt officials and violent mobsters. With the vig running, there's more than food, wine and fresh starts on the line. One wrong move and people get chopped.
Additional casting for the series includes Michael Gladis ("Mad Men," "House of Lies"), who will play Patrick Woichik, aka The Tooth Fairy, the soft spoken, brutally intimidating local mobster with a penchant for pulling teeth; Lorenza Izzo (The Green Inferno, Sex Ed), who will play Pilar Herrera, a woman who meets Tommy in a grief group, and is desperately searching for true love; Christine Adams (Batman Begins, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."), who will star as Tommy's late wife Rie Moran, John Doman ("The Wire," "The Affair"), who will play Tommy's father Aidan Moran, a shrewd and ruthless businessman and unapologetic racist; and Elijah Jacob ("Spot On") who will play Tommy's ten year old son TJ Moran.
"Under Clyde's creative leadership, "Feed the Beast" is a layered character piece and a highly entertaining story," said Joel Stillerman, president of original programming and development for
AMC and SundanceTV. 'To have David Schwimmer and Jim Sturgess along with the rest of our wonderful cast bringing this story to life is incredibly exciting, and we can't wait to get started in a few weeks."
"'Feed The Beast' is the kind of provocative, premium quality series that has become a Lionsgate trademark," said Lionsgate Television Group Chairman Kevin Beggs. 'We're delighted to expand our relationship with the iconic Clyde Phillips, excited to work with this bold ensemble cast led by the incomparable David Schwimmer and including the incredibly talented Jim Sturgess, and thrilled to bring this fast-paced drama about food, friends and family to life with our longtime partners at AMC."
"David and Jim are each incredibly talented actors whose careers span theater, film and television. But more importantly, they both possess an inherent honesty and vulnerability in their craft which are essential in the flawed characters of Tommy and Dion," said Clyde Phillips, executive producer and showrunner. "Their grasp of the story, and their respective characters' journeys, is something I'm very eager to dive into with them."
"Feed the Beast" is produced by
AMC Studios and Lionsgate in association with Clyde Phillips Productions. Executive producers are Phillips, Henrik Ruben Genz ("Bankerot," "Borgen"), Malene Blenkov ("Bankerot") and Piv Bernth ("The Killing," "Forbrydelsen" and "Bron/Broen").
About
AMC Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade, or creating acclaimed original programming,
AMC brings to its audience something deeper, something richer, Something More. The network reigns as the only cable network in history ever to win the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row with "Mad Men," and six of the last eight with back-to-back honoree "Breaking Bad." The network boasts the most-watched drama series in basic cable history and the number one show on television among adults 18-49 for the last three years with "The Walking Dead." AMC's current original drama series include "The Walking Dead," "Better Call Saul," "Hell on Wheels," "TURN: Washington's Spies," "Halt and Catch Fire," "Humans," "Fear the Walking Dead," "Into the Badlands" and the forthcoming "The Night Manager," "Feed the Beast," "Preacher" and "The Son."
AMC also explores authentic worlds and discussion with original shows like "Talking Dead," "The Making of The Mob," "Comic Book Men" and the upcoming "Ride with Norman Reedus" and "The American West."
AMC is owned and operated by
AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, SundanceTV,
BBC America and WE tv.
AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Something More.
ABOUT LIONSGATE Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms, video games and international distribution and sales. The Company has nearly 80 television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and
Syndication businesses. These include the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the multiple Emmy Award-winning drama Mad Men, the hit broadcast network series Nashville, the
Syndication successes
THE WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW and
CELEBRITY NAME GAME (with FremantleMedia), the breakout series
THE ROYALS and the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such successes as the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the first two installments of the Divergent franchise, Sicario, The Age of Adaline, CBS/Lionsgate's The DUFF, John Wick, Now You See Me, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com
Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos
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