Heroes Emerge after Alien Invasion in FALLING SKIES,
TNT’s Powerful New Series Starring Noah Wyle,
From DreamWorks Television and Executive Producer Steven Spielberg
Eagerly Anticipated Series Set to Launch with Two-Hour Premiere Sunday, June 19, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT);
Before Moving into Regular Timeslot Sundays at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
In the devastating wake of an all-out invasion of the planet by an alien military force, ordinary people must do extraordinary things to survive in TNT’s powerful new series FALLING SKIES. The show stars Noah Wyle (ER) and comes to TNT from DreamWorks Television and executive producer Steven Spielberg. FALLING SKIES is slated to air over eight weeks, beginning with the two-hour premiere on Sunday, June 19, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT). The show will then move into its regular Sunday 10 p.m. (ET/PT) timeslot.
FALLING SKIES opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few remaining survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign against the occupying alien force, whose nature and purpose remains a mystery.
At the center of FALLING SKIES is Tom Mason (Wyle), a Boston history professor whose family has been torn apart. His wife was killed shortly after the initial attack, and one of his three sons has been taken captive by the aliens for some unknown purpose. Tom must now put his extensive knowledge of military history to the test as second in command of the 2nd Massachusetts, a regiment of resistance fighters protecting a large group of civilian survivors. They are constantly trying to gain intelligence about the aliens in order to one day outsmart and overtake them and hopefully rebuild their lives.
Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation) also stars as Anne Glass, a pediatrician who works with the surviving children to help them cope with the traumatic upheaval in their lives. Will Patton (Armageddon, TNT’s Into the West) plays Weaver, a fierce military leader of the resistance and Tom’s commanding officer.
FALLING SKIES also stars Drew Roy (Secretariat) as Hal, Tom’s oldest son and a growing fighter in the resistance movement; Maxim Knight (Brothers & Sisters) as Matt, Tom’s youngest son; Connor Jessup (The Saddle Club) as Ben, Tom’s son who was captured by aliens; and Seychelle Gabriel (Weeds) as Lourdes, an orphaned teenager who helps Anne in the group’s makeshift medical clinic. Mpho Koaho (Rookie Blue) and Peter Shinkoda (The L Word) play Anthony and Dai, two resistance fighters in the 2nd Mass.; Colin Cunningham (Living in Your Car) is John Pope, the head of a gang of marauders; and Sarah Sanguin Carter (Shark) is Margaret, a wary survivor from Pope’s gang.
FALLING SKIES is a tale of endurance, commitment and courage in which everyday people are called upon to become heroes. The series focuses on the resilience of the survivors and their determination to maintain their humanity when all else has been destroyed. It also explores the ties that bind people together in the most difficult of circumstances, as well as the potential for humans to turn on each other when the struggle to survive threatens to give way to desperation. Through it all, there are moments of joy and happiness, including birthdays, births, humor, romance and friendship. The survivors may be outmatched, outnumbered and outgunned, but nothing can beat the human spirit.
“One of the most intriguing aspects of FALLING SKIES is that the invasion itself has already occurred as we catch up with the human resistance,” said co-executive producer and writer Mark Verheiden. “Six months in, shock has turned to resolve as the survivors gather to form a plan of attack. The mystery of the alien plan gradually becomes clearer over the course of the season, but not in a way the human resistance could have predicted.”
The aliens in FALLING SKIES are as mysterious as they are merciless. They are highly intelligent and use military-like tactics, which makes them an overwhelming force against the 2nd Mass. They are fast, strong, extremely intelligent and very difficult to kill. The survivors have encountered two types of aliens in the invading force: “skitters,” so named for the way they move about on spider-like legs, and “mechs,” heavily armed robot-like bi-peds.
Each week the survivors discover new pieces of information about the alien force, but those discoveries often lead to more questions about the aliens’ existence and purpose. No matter what is learned about the invaders, the biggest mystery of all remains: Why are they here, and what do they want?
FALLING SKIES is executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, along with DreamWorks Television heads Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, Graham Yost (Justified, The Pacific) and screenwriter Robert Rodat. Rodat, who earned an Oscar® nomination for his screenplay for Saving Private Ryan, wrote the pilot from an idea he co-conceived with Spielberg. Mark Verheiden (Heroes, Battlestar Galactica) and Greg Beeman (Heroes, Smallville) are co-executive producers. The pilot was directed by Carl Franklin (One False Move, Out of Time).
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® 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 the upcoming Falling Skies, starring Noah Wyle, and Franklin & Bash, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Breckin Meyer. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Supernatural, Las Vegas, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Cold Case and, starting in 2011, The Mentalist; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; 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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