History Orders Second Season of KNIGHTFALL, Mark Hamill to Join Cast

HISTORY has greenlit a second season of its Knights Templar drama series "Knightfall" with Mark Hamill (Star Wars, BAFTA-winning voice of The Joker) joining the cast and Aaron Helbing ("The Flash," "Spartacus: War of the Damned") on board as showrunner and executive producer, it was announced today by Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President of Programming, HISTORY. From A+E Studios, in association with Jeremy Renner's The Combine and Midnight Radio, "Knightfall" is a tentpole of the network's strong roster of premium drama series, including hit anchor series "Vikings" and the upcoming "Project Blue Book," executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Aidan Gillen ("Game of Thrones") and Michael Malarkey ("The Vampire Diaries").

"In the face of ever-increasing competition, we're proud of HISTORY's track record of producing signature drama series that are epic in scope with complex characters," said Lehrer. "Whether it's the legendary Knights Templar, the extraordinary tale of medieval Norsemen, or the story of a formerly classified United States Air Force program investigating UFOs during the Cold War, these series reflect our commitment to bringing the defining, big canvas stories of history to life. We look forward to offering our viewers a grittier, darker 'Knightfall' in season two and welcoming Mark to the cast."

Hamill will play the role of "Talus," a battle-hardened Knight Templar veteran of the Crusades, who survived captivity for ten years in the Holy Land and is tasked with training the new initiates to the Order. Also joining the cast in season two is Tom Forbes ("The Bastard Executioner," "Wolf Hall," Been So Long) as "Prince Louis," the violent and unpredictable son of King Philip and heir to the throne and Genevieve Gaunt ("The Royals") as "Isabella," the daughter of King Philip and well on her way to becoming the woman who history would call "the she-wolf of France." Forbes is repped by 42 and Thruline Entertainment. Gaunt is repped by United Agents and Authentic.

Season one of "Knightfall" reached 25 million total viewers in Live + 7 across Total Day. The series is also currently the broadcast season's #3 new drama in cable among total viewers in Live +7 delivery.

Starring Tom Cullen ("Downton Abbey," "Gunpowder"), "Knightfall" goes inside the medieval politics and warfare of the Knights Templar, the most powerful, wealthy and mysterious military order of the Middle Ages who were entrusted with protecting Christianity's most precious relics. The story of the Knights Templar has never been fully told until now, and "Knightfall" goes deep into the clandestine world of this legendary brotherhood of warrior monks to learn who these knights were, how they lived, and what they died believing.

"Knightfall" is an A+E Studios production in association with The Combine and Midnight Radio. Helbing serves as showrunner and executive producer. Executive producers for Midnight Radio are Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg. Don Handfield (Touchback, The Founder, Kill the Messenger) and Richard Rayner (L.A. Without A Map) serve as creators and executive producers for The Combine, with Oscar(R) and Golden Globe(R) nominee Jeremy Renner (American Hustle, The Hurt Locker) also serving as executive producer. Cyrus Voris ("Legends"), Ethan Reiff ("Legends"), Rick Jacobson ("Ash vs Evil Dead") and BARRY Jossen also executive produce. Arturo Interian is the executive producer for HISTORY. A+E Networks holds worldwide distribution rights for "Knightfall."

About Midnight Radio

Midnight Radio is a production company started by Emmy, WGA, and Hugo Award winning writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg. They've created and produced television for Netflix, Showtime, History, ABC, CBS, CW and Fox. They are also prolific feature writers and producers with credits including Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, The Amazing Spiderman 2, Con Air, Gone In 60 Seconds, Ninja Turtles, Ninja Turtles 2, High Fidelity and Sony's Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle. Upcoming feature projects include the sequel to Jumanji, Marvel's Venom starring Tom Hardy, and G.I Joe for Paramount.

About A+E Studios

A+E Studios is the studio unit of the award-winning global media company A+E Networks, LLC. A+E Studios creates, produces and distributes high-quality scripted programming across all networks and platforms in the A+E Networks portfolio, including Lifetime(R), HISTORY(R), Lifetime Movie(R), and A&E IndieFilms(R), as well as outside buyers. A+E Studios' slate of programming consists of scripted series, event series and movies, including the Peabody Award-winning UnREAL; the event miniseries ROOTS, the action drama SIX, the breakout series Knightfall, and the forthcoming series Project Blue Book for HISTORY; and YOU from Greg Berlanti, premiering on September 9, as well as and the upcoming Jenji Kohan-produced series American Princess for Lifetime, among others. Following its first full production year, A+E Studios received 16 Primetime Emmy(R) nominations including Outstanding Limited Series for ROOTS.

About HISTORY(R)

HISTORY(R), now reaching more than 96 million homes, is the leading destination for award-winning series and specials that connect viewers with history in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across all platforms. The network's all-original programming slate features a roster of signature series including "Pawn Stars," "American Pickers," "The Curse of Oak Island," "Alone" as well as the hit drama series "Vikings." The HISTORY website is located at history.com. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/history and Facebook at facebook.com/history.

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