Unscripted Series THE WRITER'S ROOM Among Sundance TV's 2014 Programming
By: Caryn Robbins Apr. 03, 2014
SundanceTV announces its 2014 Programming Guide.
New Original Scripted Show
Premiere: Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 9:00 PM
Finale: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 9:00 PM
1 Hour, 6 Episodes "The Red Road" is a gripping, dramatic thriller that presents two distinct visions of America today as played out through the conflict between two wildly different men. The series revolves around a local sheriff struggling to keep his family together while simultaneously policing two clashing communities: the small town where he grew up, just outside of New York City, and the neighboring mountains - home of a federally unrecognized Native American tribe. After a terrible tragedy and cover-up further divides these worlds, an uneasy alliance is forged between the officer and a dangerous member of the tribe. As these two men find themselves increasingly compromised by the other, and the emotional ghosts of their collective pasts begin to emerge, the lives of both quickly unravel, leading to terrible consequences.
Original Unscripted Series - Season 2
Premiere: Friday, April 18, 2014 at 9:00 PM
Finale: Friday, May 23, 2014 at 9:00 PM
30 Minutes, 6 Episodes Hosted by Academy Award(R) winning screenwriter Jim Rash, "The Writers' Room" is a six episode half-hour series that takes viewers inside the writers' rooms of the hit television shows that are defining pop culture today. Season two will go behind the scenes with the writers, producers and actors from a variety of hit series, including, "Sons of Anarchy" (Kurt Sutter, Charles Murray, Mike Daniels, Katey Sagal), "House of Cards" (Matt Bai, Laura Eason, John Mankiewicz, Beau Willimon, and Molly Parker), "Pretty Little Liars" (I. Marlene King, Oliver Goldstick, Joseph Dougherty, Sasha Pieterse, Shay Mitchell), "The Good Wife" (Robert King, Michelle King, Ted Humphrey, Julianna Margulies), "Scandal" (Shonda Rhimes, Mark Wilding, Matt Byrne, Jenna Bans, Heather Mitchell, and Kerry Washington), and an episode about the growing trend of comic book and graphic novel adaptations in TV which will highlight popular series such as "The Walking Dead" and "Smallville." "The Writers' Room" debuted this past summer to rave reviews. The Baltimore Sun called it "unpretentious and utterly engaging." The Hollywood Reporter exclaimed, "viewers get to share in that experience of joy, that elusive feeling that something really good was just created here." Season one spotlighted "Breaking Bad", "Dexter," "Game of Thrones," "American Horror Story," "Parks and Recreation" and "New Girl." REVEALING: TRUE OR FAUX
1 Hour Special
Air date: Wednesday, April 16, 2014 at 9:00 PM SundanceTV explores what's "real" in the fashion word with "Revealing: True or Faux", the fourth "Revealing" special hosted by ELLE Creative Director Joe Zee. In this episode, Joe explores the fakery behind fashion from counterfeit fashion to high street runway knock offs, and asks the larger question of whether fashion is an art form, free to be 'inspired' by other influences or a business that needs protection from copycats. Through compelling celebrity testimony, a pointed social experiment and Joe's dissection of the fashion black market, he examines whether Fashion is still capable of an original idea. Contributors include: journalist and Bargain Fever author Mark Ellwood, Director of the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University Susan Scafidi, CEO of People's Revolution Kelly Cutrone, fashion historian Valerie Steele, Barneys Creative Ambassador-At-Large Simon Doonan, TheFashionLaw.com blogger Julie Zerbo, and fashion designers Jean-Paul Gaultier, Carolina Herrera, Narcisco Rodriguez, Zac Posen, and Francisco Costa. RECTIFY
Original Scripted Series - Season 2
Premiere: Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 9:00 PM
Finale: August 7, 2014 at 9:00 PM
1 Hour, 10 Episodes Season one of "Rectify" depicted the first week in the life of Daniel Holden (Aden Young) following his release from Death Row to a world he no longer understood, to build a life he may not be allowed to keep. As Daniel tried to find a place in his reconfigured family and within a community deeply divided about his return, his presence reignited old wounds and introduced unexpected complications for those closest to him. In season two we find Daniel becoming an active participant in his life, making decisions and thinking about the future as he struggles to find meaning in a dangerous and unpredictable world. It will also delve into the lives changed by Daniel's return and the ripple effect his actions have on the people around him. "Rectify" debuted in 2013 to much critical acclaim and is SundanceTV's first wholly-owned scripted production. Included on over 35 year-end "best of" lists, including Time, TV Guide, and A.V. Club, season one was heralded by The Daily Beast as "a breathtaking work of immense beauty and a thought-provoking meditation on the nature of crime and punishment, of identity and solitude, of guilt and absolution. It is, quite simply, the best new show of 2013." Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times said "'Rectify' is a revelation that sets a new standard," while Matt Roush of TV Guide gave the series a "10 out of 10," commenting that 'Rectify' is "impeccably written and acted, quietly suspenseful and achingly poignant." Gran Via's Mark Johnson (Rain Man, "Breaking Bad") and Melissa Bernstein ("Breaking Bad", "Halt and Catch Fire") are executive producers. Robin Sweet (The Reluctant Fundamentalist) is a Producer, Director of Photography is Paul Sommers ("The Vampire Diaries"), Production Designer is Hugh D.G. Moody ("The Glades") and Costume Designer is Carol Cutshall ("One Tree Hill"). Starring are: Aden Young (Killer Elite, The Tree) as Daniel, Abigail Spencer ("Burning Love", Oz: The Great & Powerful) as Daniel's sister Amantha, J. Smith-Cameron ("True Blood") as Daniel's mother Janet, Luke Kirby (Take This Waltz, Mania Days) as Daniel's lawyer Jon Stern, Clayne Crawford ("24," "Justified") as Daniel's stepbrother Ted Jr., Adelaide Clemens ("Parade's End," The Great Gatsby) as Ted Jr.'s wife Tawney, Bruce McKinnon (The Way Home) as Daniel's stepfather Ted Sr., and Jake Austin Walker (The Chaperone) as Daniel's half- brother Jared. THE HONORABLE WOMAN
Original Scripted Miniseries
Premiere: Coming in Q3 2014 "The Honorable Woman" is a fast paced, labyrinthine thriller set against an international political backdrop. With Hugo Blick's (The Shadow Line) distinctive rhythmic style and vision as both a writer and director, he brings together a compelling drama about family inheritance, international business and world politics. Nessa Stein's (Maggie Gyllenhaal) father was a Zionist arms procurer, and as children, she and her brother witness his assassination. As an adult, inheriting her father's company, she dramatically inverts its purpose from supplying arms to laying high-spec data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. Now in her thirties, her sudden appointment apparently due to her tireless promotion of projects for reconciliation between the Israelis and Palestinians, creates an international political maelstrom. Following the murder of a Palestinian business man, Samir Meshal, after he had just been awarded the latest cabling contract, Nessa and her brother Ephra find themselves placed under the scrutiny of both Whitehall and the Secret Intelligence Service. It is then that Nessa is forced to confront not only the true nature of her business empire but of her brother and, ultimately, of herself. Set against a gripping international backdrop of paranoia and espionage, "The Honorable Woman" follows one woman's personal journey to right the wrongs conducted in her past. From the corridors of governmental power to Whitehall and MI6, from Washington and the CIA to Israel and the Palestinian Territories - the visual backdrop of Blick's gripping drama is as stunning and refined as the story that drives it. Joining Gyllenhaal is a top international cast that includes: Academy Award nominee Stephen Rea; Oscar and Tony award nominee Janet McTeer (Damages, Albert Nobbs); Andrew Buchan (Broadchurch, Garrow's Law, The Fixer ); BAFTA award nominee Katherine Parkinson (The IT Crowd, Sherlock); British theatre and television actress Eve Best (Nurse Jackie, The King's Speech); multi-award winning Belgian actress Lubna Azbal (Incendies, Occupation, Paradise Now, Body of Lies);Tobias Menzies (Game of Thrones, Rome, The Shadow Line); Genevieve O'Reilly (Spooks, Episodes); Israeli actor Igal Naor (300: Rise Of An Empire, Green Zone); Martin Hutson; Nicholas Woodeson; Raad Rawi; Richard Katz; Philip Arditti; John Mackay; Rupert Frazer; Uriel Emil; Paul Herzberg; George Georgiou; Julia Montgomery-Brown; Marin McDougall; Aiden Stephenson; Tom Bateman; Amira Ghazalla; Hugh Ross and Stephen Boxer The Honorable Woman is an Eight Rooks and Drama Republic Production for BBC Two and SundanceTV. ONE CHILD
Scripted Series
Premiere: Coming in Q4 2014 "One Child" crosses the world as a Chinese-born young woman adopted by British parents must struggle with who she really is in order to decide where her loyalty lies. The four-hour series is penned by Guy Hibbert (Complicit, Five Minutes of Heaven) and stars Katie Leung (Harry Potter). Mei (Leung), a first-born Chinese girl adopted by English parents, gets called back to Guangzhou when her birth mother desperately seeks her assistance in saving her son. How far will Mei go to help the woman who gave her away and the brother she's never met? This drama takes a new look at what it means to be family. The project is a BBC Drama production for BBC Two and is co-produced with SundanceTV. THE RETURNED
Scripted Series - Season 2
Premiere: Coming in 2015 Season one of the Peabody-Award winning series, "The Returned," premiered on SundanceTV to universal critical acclaim and was hailed by many as one of the best new series of 2013. The Wall Street Journal called it "a superbly stylish and scary French drama with no equal in its genre," Entertainment Weekly described it as "eerie, tense and highly addictive" and The Hollywood Reporter stated "one of the most intriguing, utterly original offerings of the year." In season one, a seemingly random collection of people find themselves in a state of confusion as they attempt to return to their homes. What they don't know yet is that they have been dead for several years, and no one is expecting them back. As they struggle to reintegrate with their families and past lovers, buried secrets emerge and new mysteries develop as they grapple with a miraculous and sinister new reality. But it seems they are not the only ones to have returned from the dead. Their arrival coincides with a series of gruesome murders which bear a chilling resemblance to the work of a serial killer from the past. The series was created by Fabrice Gobert and is based on the feature film Les Revenants by Robin Campillo. The series was produced by Caroline Benjo, Jimmy Desmarais and Carole Scotta from Haut et Court. RECENTLY AIRED ORIGINALS: DREAM SCHOOL
New Original Unscripted Series
Premiered: Monday, October 7th, 2013 at 10:00 PM
Finale: Monday, November 11th, 2013 at 10:00 PM
1 Hour, 6 Episodes From Academy Award(R) winning filmmaker Oliver Stone to astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison, these instructors had one mission - to excite young minds and reignite their students' desire to learn. An ambitious project where the best and the brightest in our culture taught kids who had been falling through the cracks, "Dream School" was designed to motivate troubled teenagers to Turn their lives around. Pregnant, neglected, bullies or bullied; the kids all had one thing in common - they were dropouts. Last fall, SundanceTV gave them a once in a lifetime chance to start over, but overcoming past failures and future obstacles proved to be no easy task for both the students and their instructors. Adapted from the UK series created by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and executive produced by Oliver and multi-platinum award-winning musician and entrepreneur Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, "Dream School" was a gripping look at what it takes to foster creativity and a love of learning and just how hard it is to Capture the imaginations of today's students. The students, ages 17-18, who had either been expelled or dropped out of the conventional school system, had a Science lesson taught at the California Science Center by Dr. Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to go into space. Homeroom teacher and drama coach David Arquette led self-confidence exercises and taught the craft of acting, while famed choreographer Doriana Sanchez helped the students get over their inhibitions by encouraging a "silent disco" in a public mall. Music class was a trip to the recording studio with music impresario Swizz Beatz, who's worked with some of the industry's biggest stars, including Jay-Z and Bono. Third generation ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau taught the laws of physics and buoyancy first-hand in a water bottle regatta in a pool. Plus, the students learned that it's never too early to start getting their finances in order by taking an economic course taught by none other than financial expert Suze Orman. SundanceTV FILMS: April Film Strands: · THRILLER FRIDAYS Turn off the lights and lock the front door as Sundance presents a unique thriller. Every Thursday night @ 10:00pm with an immediate encore. Fri 4/4 Jackie Brown
Fri 4/11 Bullitt
Fri 4/18 Escape From Alcatraz
Fri 4/25 Trade · ROBERT REDFORD PRESENTS: Tune in Saturdays @ 9pm for an insightful introduction to a diverse group of films brought to you by the founder of Sundance. Sat 4/5 The Hurt Locker
Sat 4/12 Sexy Beast
Sat 4/19 Hard Eight
Sat 4/26 The Ides of March · 1001 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE: SundanceTV brings the Barron's book to life and adds some selections of our own, celebrating the 1001 ways great films are made. Every Sunday night @ 10pm. Sun 4/6 Bonnie and Clyde
Sun 4/13 When Harry Met Sally
Sun 4/20 The Wild Bunch
Sun 4/27 Eyes Wide Shut
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