Michelle Fairley, Jodie Comer Cast in Starz's THE WHITE PRINCESS

Starz announced today that Michelle Fairley ("Game of Thrones," "Rebellion") will play the role of Margaret Beaufort in "The White Princess," the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed STARZ Original Miniseries event "The White Queen," from Company Pictures and Playground. Up-and-coming actress, Jodie Comer ("Doctor Foster," "My Mad Fat Diary") also joins the cast as Princess Elizabeth of York. Adapted from Philippa Gregory's best-selling novel of the same name and part of The Cousins' War book series, "The White Princess" tells the story of England's War of the Roses from the perspective of the women. The 8-episode limited series drama will begin shooting on location in Bristol, England later this year.

Margaret Beaufort, Henry Tudor's mother was a philanthropist, a benefactor for the Church, and the calculating mastermind behind Henry's ascent to the Throne of England. Margaret knows that getting the throne and keeping it safe for the Tudor line are two different things, and works to fortify Henry's rule, as York rivals continue to plot against them.

Princess Elizabeth of York (Lizzie) is promised in marriage to the newly anointed King Henry in hopes that it will unite the Houses of York and Tudor and bring an end to The Wars of the Roses. The arranged union and Lizzie's anger at being used as a pawn, bring her into direct conflict with Henry's strong-willed mother. Matching wits and wills, these two brilliant and ambitious women battle for Henry's favor, which they know determines the future of England and the fates of the ones they love.

Award winning actress Michelle Fairley's acting career richly spans across theater, film and television. Fairley is perhaps most internationally known for her staunch portrayal of Catelyn Stark in HBO's "Game of Thrones" in its first three seasons. She can be currently seen in SundanceTV's Irish historical drama miniseries, "Rebellion," as Dolly Butler and will also be appearing in the upcoming Season Two of Pivot's first original scripted series, "Fortitude," a dramatic thriller set amidst a tight-knit Arctic community. Her previous reoccurring television credits include ABC's drama "Resurrection" alongside Frances Fisher and Kurtwood Smith, Fox's event series, "24: Live Another Day" with Kiefer Sutherland, and USA Network's acclaimed legal drama "Suits." She last appeared on stage in the 2015 revival of BAFTA award-winning writer Abi Morgan's play "Splendour" at London's Donmar Warehouse, and she has also claimed roles in Jean Paul Sartre's existentialist work "Huis Clos" as Ines, in "Othello" as Emilia, directed by Michael Grandage and also starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor, and in "The Weir" directed by Ian Rickson that played in London and on Broadway, amongst others. On the big screen, Fairley has recently appeared in Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea with Chris Hemsworth, Stephen Frears' Philomena with Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, and Ralph Fiennes' The Invisible Woman.

Rising U.K. actress Jodie Comer, originally from Liverpool, garnered attention from her breakout role in E4's BAFTA and International Emmy Award nominated British comedy-drama, "My Mad Fat Diary" adapted from the novel by Rae Earl. Comer went onto star in BBC One's supernatural drama mini-series "Remember Me" opposite Michael Palin. Comer also starred in BBC One's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" with Richard Madden and Holliday Grainger adapted from D.H. Lawrence's tale. Following this, Comer starred in BBC One's BAFTA nominated ratings phenomenon "Doctor Foster." The mini-series was written by award-winning writer Mike Bartlett and directed by Tom Vaughan. Later this year, Comer will reprise her role in the highly anticipated second series of "Doctor Foster." Comer recently received rave reviews for her leading performance in BBC Three/BBC America's "Thirteen," a five-part psychological drama about a young woman working her way back into society after being abducted. Comer played Ivy Moxam, who escaped from a cellar that had been her prison for the last thirteen years. She is currently filming BBC One's "Rillington Place" a gripping three-part drama based on the real-life murders undertaken in Notting Hill in the 1940s and 50s by John Christie, played by Tim Roth. Comer will make her big screen debut in the Mark Gill-directed biopic of iconic British singer Morrissey, "Steven."

Fairley is represented by Peter Brooks at Creative Artists Management and Chris Schmidt at Paradigm. Comer is represented by Independent Talent Group in the UK and ICM Partners in the U.S.

It was previously announced that acclaimed writer Emma Frost ("The White Queen," "The Man in the High Castle," "Shameless") will return to serve as Showrunner and Executive Producer with Gregory serving as Executive Producer for "The White Princess." Lachlan MacKinnon ("Burton and Taylor") will serve as Producer for the series. Playground's Colin Callender ("The White Queen," "The Dresser," "Wolf Hall") and Scott Huff will serve as Executive Producers with Company Pictures' Michele Buck ("Parades End," "Sex Traffic," "Hornblower").

About "The White Princess" "The White Princess" concludes the story of England's War of the Roses and charts the rise of the House of Tudor through the tempestuous marriage between Princess Elizabeth of York and King Henry Tudor. The year is 1485 and Princess Elizabeth, daughter of "The White Queen," has been pledged in marriage to the newly anointed King Henry Tudor in hopes that it will bring peace to a war-torn country. England is united, but their marriage is soon divided, as rumors circulate that Elizabeth's long-lost brother Prince Richard is alive and planning to take the throne. Now she must choose between Tudor wife and York princess, between her new husband and the boy who claims to be her own blood and the true heir to the crown.

"The White Princess" tells the story of one of the most fascinating periods of British history uniquely from the women's point of view.

"The White Princess" will film on location in Bristol, UK and will air on STARZ in 2017. Starz will retain all network pay TV and SVOD rights to the project.

About Starz Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television networks (Starz Networks) and global content distribution (Starz Distribution),www.starz.com. The Starz Networks operating unit is home to the flagship STARZ® brand with 24.0 million subscribers in the United States as of March 31, 2016, with the STARZ ENCORESM network at 32.4 million subscribers. Through STARZ, the company provides high quality, entertaining premium subscription video programming with 17 premium pay TV channels and associated on-demand and online services. STARZ is sold through U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, telecommunications companies, and other online and digital platforms. Starz offers subscribers more than 5,000 distinct premium television episodes and feature films every year and up to 1,500 every month, including STARZ Original series, first-run movies and other popular movie and television programming. The Starz Distribution operating unit is home to the Anchor Bay Entertainment, Starz Digital, and Starz Worldwide Distribution divisions. In addition to STARZ Original series, Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires movies, television and other entertainment content for worldwide home video, digital, and television licensing and sales.

Photo: Michelle Fairley © Faye Thomas; Jodie Comer © Jack Alexander

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