Pierce Brosnan to Team with Spike TV on Original Event Series Based on The Crusades

Spike TV is teaming up with Pierce Brosnan's Irish DreamTime, Mark Sennet Entertainment, Michael Finch and Academy Award(R)-winning writer David Franzoni to develop a script for an event series based on the one of the seminal events in world history, the Crusades.

Spike TV's event-series, "The Crusaders" will be Executive Produced by Brosnan and Beau St. Clair from Irish DreamTime, Mark Sennet ("Bag of Bones"), Brian Gary ("Jefferson Davis: An American President"), and Craig Sheftell from Sennet Entertainment. Michael Finch ("Predators") and David Franzoni will Executive Produce and write "The Crusaders." Franzoni won an Oscar in 2000 for "Gladiator" (Best Picture).

The event-series takes place during the Third Crusade, after the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin's armies, and centers on two very different knights who journey from Scotland to the Holy Land for very different reasons. There, bound together in the crucible that is war, politics and betrayal, they will encounter and be forced to overcome, among others, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, the Hashshashin and ultimately their own personal demons.

Sharon Levy, Executive Vice President, Original Series, Spike TV and Justin Lacob, Vice President, Original Series, will oversee the project.

Spike TV will premiere its first scripted event series in seven years, "Tut," in 2015. The network recently announced script options for "The Chairman," based on the Stephen Frey best-seller "War at the Shore" based on Richard D. "Skip" Bronson's book, and "Basket Case" by prominent author and journalist Carl Hiaasen.

About SPIKE TV:

Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. SPIKE TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.

About Irish DreamTime:

Irish DreamTime was founded by Pierce Brosnan and Beau St. Clair in 1996, with the goal of fostering new talent and producing both independent and studio films. Over the past decade and a half, the company has produced 10 films including the critically acclaimed independent feature THE MATADOR, as well the studio blockbuster THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR. In addition to THE NOVEMBER MAN which is awaiting release in the fall of this year, Irish Dreamtime is in post-production on the romantic comedy HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE AN ENGLISHMAN. Irish DreamTime has recently moved into dramatic television, setting up multiple scripted series as executive producers.

About Sennet Entertainment:

Mark Sennet, renowned Time Life photojournalist and photographer, formed Sennet Entertainment in 1992 to produce world class television and feature films. Since opening its doors, Sennet Entertainment has produced multiple acclaimed television series, Emmy nominated television movies and mini-series: K STREET (HBO) in partnership with George Clooney & Stephen Soderbergh; DR. VEGAS (CBS) starring Amy Adams & Rob Lowe; feature film LOCAL COLOR which opened Tribecca Film Festival - starring Ray Liotta & Armin Mueller-Stahl; Stephen King mini-series including: DESPERATION (ABC) starring Ron Perlman, BAG OF Bones (A&E) starring Pierce Brosnan; TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD (A&E) based on the best selling book; MARTIN & Lewis (CBS) based on the iconic comedy team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis; Emmy nominated Switched at Birth (NBC); IN LINE OF DUTY: THE FBI MURDERS (NBC)'s longest running anthology lasting ten years.

Sennet Entertainment's multi-platform development slate includes: the feature film version of James Elroy's CLANDESTINE which is the prequel to LA CONFIDENTIAL; feature film REYKJAVIK with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions, Headline Pictures, based on the 1986 summit between Reagan and Gorbachev starring Michael Douglas (Reagan) & Christoph Waltz (Gorbachev); the international series THE DRIVERS written by Michael Hirst in partnership with Scott Free Productions, Headline Pictures, and Fremantle Media; limited series CAPA based on the life of famed war photographer Robert Capa by Jonathan Feldman with director Paul McGuigan and Jessica Biel (Ingrid Bergman) attached to star with Irish Dreamtime; limited series SPACE RACE written by James Manos Jr. the creator of Dexter.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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