Discovery Communications : Chris Noth and Keisha Castle-Hughes Join Discovery’s Highly-Anticipated Scripted Series ‘Manifesto’

Produced by Lionsgate and Trigger Street Productions,

Filming Starts in Atlanta on January 30

(LOS ANGELES) - Discovery Channel announced today that Golden Globe nominee Chris Noth ('The Good Wife,' 'Sex In The City') and Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes ('Roadies,' 'Game of Thrones') have been cast in its upcoming highly-anticipated scripted series MANIFESTO, set to air this year. Produced by John Goldwyn, serving as consultant to Discovery,Lionsgate, Trigger Street Productions and Discovery Channel, the series will tell the story of how the FBI brought down Ted Kaczynski (Paul Bettany, 'Gangster No. 1,' 'Captain America: Civil War), also known as the 'Unabomber,' one of the most infamous criminal masterminds in the world. Production starts in Atlanta on January 30, 2017. Emmy® Award-winning television producer and director Greg Yaitanes ('Quarry,' 'Banshee') will executive produce, direct and serve as showrunner.

Noth will play Don Ackerman, the Bay Area Divisional Head of the FBI, who supervised the Unabomber Task Force. Meanwhile, Castle-Hughes stars as Tabby, a street agent who partners with FBI agent Jim 'Fitz' Fitzgerald, (Sam Worthington, Mel Gibson's critically-acclaimed 'Hacksaw Ridge,' 'Avatar'), one of the most decorated profilers in the history of the bureau, whose radical approach to intelligence gathering ultimately took Kaczynski down. Noth, Castle-Hughes and Worthington are joined by Paul Bettany ('Gangster No. 1,' 'Captain America: Civil War') as Ted Kaczynski, also known as the 'Unabomber,' one of the most infamous criminal masterminds in the world. This series features both Bettany and Worthington's first major leading roles on U.S. television.

Nothis an accomplished graduate of the Yale School of Drama that continues to build upon a versatile career in film, television and on stage. Among his credits are two of the most successful series in television history: 'Law & Order' and 'Sex and the City.' Noth originated the role of Mike Logan on the first five seasons of 'Law & Order' and then reprised the role on 'Law & Order: Criminal Intent.' He shared two SAG Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series with his fellow cast members. For his portrayal of Mr. Big in HBO's 'Sex and the City,' Noth earned a Golden Globe nomination. His performance as Peter Florrick in the CBS drama 'The Good Wife' earned him a Golden Globe nomination as well as two SAG Award nominations for Outstanding Ensemble. In addition, Noth starred and executive produced the TNT original film 'Bad Apple,' and starred in FX's drama series 'Tyrant,' the BBC series 'Titanic: Blood and Steel,' TNT's epic miniseries 'Caesar,' and TNT's telefilm 'Exiled.'

Noth's film credits include 'Chronically Metropolitan,' 'White Girl,' 'After the Ball,' 'Elsa & Fred,' 'Lovelace,' 'Frankie Go Boom,' 'Sex and the City 2,' 'Sex and the City,' 'My One and Only,' 'The Perfect Man,' 'Mr. 3000,' 'Searching for Paradise,' 'Double Whammy,' 'Cast Away,' 'Texas Funeral,' 'Getting to Know You,' 'The Broken Giant,' 'The Confession,' 'Cold Around the Heart' and 'Naked in New York.'

On television, Castle-Hughes was last seen as a series lead in Cameron Crowe's Showtime series 'Roadies,' starring alongside Luke Wilson, Carla Gugino, and Imogen Poots. She will reprise her role in Season Seven of HBO's hugely-successful original series, 'Game of Thrones,' as Obara Sand.

On the feature film side, Castle-Hughes can next be seen in the Dreamworks feature film 'Thank You For Your Service,' opposite Miles Teller, Haley Bennett, and Amy Schumer and written and directed by Jason Hall ('American Sniper'). She started out in this business with her break-through performance in Niki Caro's film, 'Whale Rider.' Castle-Hughes' portrayal of the Paikea earned her international acclaim, an Oscar nomination for 'Best Actress' in 2003, and she won the Broadcast Film Critics, Chicago Film Critics, NZ Film & TV, Online Film Critics and the Young Artist awards. She then went on to play Queen Naboo in George Lucas' 'Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (Episode III)' in 2005 and next played the role of Mary in 'The Nativity Story,' directed by Catherine Hardwicke. In 2008 and 2009, Castle-Hughes had roles in two high-profile independent films - 'Hey, Hey It's Esther Blueburger' and 'Vintner's Luck' aka 'A Heavenly Vintage.' She also had lead roles in 'Vampire,' 'Red Dog,' and 'Queen Of Carthage.'

MANIFESTO is from Kevin Spacey and Dana Brunetti's Trigger Street and writer Andrew Sodroski, who topped Hollywood's famed Black List for screenplays in 2013 with 'Holland, Michigan.' The series is part of the push to add a select number of high-end scripted projects to Discovery's line-up under the leadership of Rich Ross, Group President of Discovery, Animal Planet and Science Channel. John Goldwyn also served as a consultant and executive producer on behalf of Discovery's 'Harley and the Davidsons,' which delivered more than 4.4 million viewers for Discovery this past September and became the most watched single-network cable miniseries in 3.5 years .

MANIFESTO will trace how Jim 'Fitz' Fitzgerald challenged the 'old school' ways with his radical new approach to intelligence gathering. Fitzgerald had training as a profiler, but it was his focus on linguistics that became vital to breaking the case. He believed that the key to unlocking the true identity of the Unabomber would be found in the language of The Manifesto, a detailed account of some of Kaczynski's plots.

MANIFESTO is produced with Lionsgate and Trigger Street Productions. Kevin Spacey, Dana Brunetti, Troy Searer and Greg Yaitanes are Executive Producers. John Goldwyn will serve as Executive Producer on behalf of Discovery. Jim Fitzgerald will serve as Consulting Producer.

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel is dedicated to creating the highest quality non-fiction content that informs and entertains its consumers about the world in all its wonder, diversity and amazement. The network, which is distributed to 100.8 million U.S. homes, can be seen in 224 countries and territories, offering a signature mix of compelling, high-end production values and vivid cinematography across genres including, science and technology, exploration, adventure, history and in-depth, behind-the-scenes glimpses at the people, places and organizations that shape and share our world. For more information, please visit www.discovery.com

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world's #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. For 30 years Discovery has been dedicated to satisfying curiosity and entertaining viewers with high-quality content through its global television brands, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery controls Eurosport, the leading pan-regional sports entertainment destination across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.

With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving nearly 25 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with over 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the Starz app delivering content directly to consumers.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me and John Wick series, the Golden Globe-nominated La LaLand, Hacksaw Ridge and Hell or High Water (in partnership with CBS Films), Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, Roadside Attractions' critically-acclaimed Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films'concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate's slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the acclaimed drama The Royals, the acclaimed Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf and hit Starz series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor's Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com