TNT Acquires Hit Crime Drama 'Castle'

In its latest high-profile acquisition, TNT has secured the exclusive off-network cable rights to the hit series, Castle, from Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Castle, which just completed its third highly rated season on ABC, is a crime drama starring Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Desperate Housewives) and Stana Katic (Quantum of Solace, TNT's The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice). Castle (seasons 1 & 2) will begin airing on TNT in summer 2012. As part of TNT's TV Everywhere rollout, Castle will also be available for online viewing through mobile phones, tablets, computers and other devices.

"With the addition of Castle, TNT continues to build a collection of hit shows that will perfectly complement our high-profile original series," said Michael Wright, executive vice president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

TNT's deal for Castle follows on the heels of the network's recent acquisition of Hawaii Five-0, which will join the TNT lineup in 2014. TNT has also landed the popular series The Mentalist, which recently enjoyed a strong opening in its Wednesday 7-9 p.m. timeslot.

Castle centers on the life of Richard Castle (Fillion) - a famous mystery novelist and divorced father raising his teenage daughter, while being kept grounded by his Broadway diva mother. He was creatively blocked until the NYPD questioned him in connection with a series of murders staged to imitate crime scenes from his books. Castle found inspiration in NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, a bright and aggressive homicide detective with a fascination for odd and offbeat cases stemming from the years-old unsolved murder of her own mother. Though they instantly clashed, sparks of another sort began to fly, leading both to danger and a hint of romance as Castle stepped in to help find the copycat killer. Once that initial case was solved, Castle and Beckett continued to investigate strange homicides in New York, combining Castle's writer intuition and Beckett's creative detective work.

Currently entering its fourth season, the series stars Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett, Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Jon Huertas as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito, Seamus Dever as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan and Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle, with Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers.

Castle is produced by ABC Studios. Andrew Marlowe is the show's creator/executive producer, along with executive producers Rob Bowman, David Amann, Laurie Zaks and Armyan Bernstein.

About Disney-ABC Domestic Television

Disney-ABC Domestic Television (DADT) is the North American in-home sales organization for The Walt Disney Company. DADT distributes motion picture and television content across a wide array of media platforms and businesses, including video/retail, video-on-demand/pay-per-view, electronic sell-through, subscription video-on-demand, pay television, basic cable, broadcast television, mobile, broadband and other digital technologies. An industry leader, DADT is responsible for sales and customer management of in-home entertainment content, distributing properties from Disney, Disney-Pixar, Marvel, DreamWorks Studios, ABC Studios, ABC Entertainment, ABC Family and Disney Channel. Disney-ABC Domestic Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney Enterprises, Inc.

About TNT

TNT, one of cable's top-rated networks, is television's destination for drama. Seen in 100.5 million households, the network is home to such original series as The Closer, starring Emmy(R) winner Kyra Sedgwick; Rizzoli & Isles, starring Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander; 2011 Peabody Award winner Men of a Certain Age, with Ray Romano, Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; Hawthorne, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Memphis Beat, with Jason Lee; and Southland, from Emmy-winning producer John Wells (ER); as well as new series Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle, and Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, The Mentalist, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY and Cold Case; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R); and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

 

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