Discovery Communications : Jane Lynch Cast as Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno In Discovery’s Highly-Anticipated Scripted Series ‘Manifesto’

(LOS ANGELES) - Discovery Channel announced today that Golden Globe and two-time Emmy winner Jane Lynch ('Glee,' 'Hollywood Game Night') has 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 FBI agent Jim 'Fitz' Fitzgerald (Sam Worthington, 'Avatar', 'Hacksaw Ridge') deployed a radical approach to intelligence gathering to take 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. Andrew Sodroski, who topped Hollywood's famed Black List for screenplays in 2013 with 'Holland, Michigan,' created the series and serves as an Executive Producer. Jim Fitzgerald will serve as Consulting Producer.

Lynch has been cast as former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno. At 57 years old, Reno was the first woman to serve as Attorney General, a true public servant and a woman of great character and resolve. Every major case in the country came across her desk, and there was no bigger one than the hunt for the Unabomber. Lynch's Reno will play opposite Golden Globe nominee Chris Noth ('The Good Wife,' 'Sex In The City'), who plays Don Ackerman, the Bay Area Divisional Head of the FBI, who supervised the Unabomber Task Force.

Lynch also joins Sam Worthington (Mel Gibson's critically-acclaimed 'Hacksaw Ridge,' 'Avatar') playing Jim 'Fitz' Fitzgerald, one of the most decorated profilers in the history of the bureau, whose radical approach to intelligence gathering ultimately took Kaczynski down; Paul Bettany ('Gangster No. 1,' 'Captain America: Civil War') as Ted Kaczynski, the 'Unabomber'; and Oscar nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes ('Roadies,' 'Game of Thrones') as Tabby, a street agent who partners with Fitzgerald. This series features both Bettany and Worthington's first major leading roles on U.S. television.

Jane Lynch is the two-time Emmy Award-winning host of NBC's 'Hollywood Game Night.' Lynch was raised near Chicago and cut her theatrical teeth at The Second City and Steppenwolf Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the 2013 production of 'Annie' and soon embarked on her own live concert tour, 'See Jane Sing.' Lynch is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner for her portrayal of Sue Sylvester on 'Glee.' Additional television credits include 'Party Down,' 'Lovespring International,' 'Two and a Half Men' and 'The L Word.' Lynch's film credits include the recent Christopher Guest movie 'Mascots', 'The Three Stooges,' 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' 'Julie & Julia,' 'A Mighty Wind' and 'Best in Show.'

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 STARZENCORE 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 critically-acclaimed box office hit La La Land, which won a record-breaking seven Golden Globes, Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell or High Water, Roadside Attractions' Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films' breakout 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 Golden Globe-nominated 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

Press Contacts for Discovery:
Laurie Goldberg, laurie_goldberg@discovery.com, 310-975-1631
Phil Zimmerman, phil_zimmerman@discovery.com, 310-975-5975

Press Contact for Lionsgate:

David Gardner, dgardner@lippingroup.com, 323-965-1990

JANE LYNCH

Biography

Jane Lynch is the two-time Emmy Award-winning host of NBC's 'Hollywood Game Night.'

Lynch was raised near Chicago and cut her theatrical teeth at The Second City and Steppenwolf Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the 2013 production of 'Annie' and soon embarked on her own live concert tour, 'See Jane Sing.'

Lynch is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner for her portrayal of Sue Sylvester on 'Glee.' Additional television credits include 'Party Down,' 'Lovespring International,' 'Two and a Half Men' and 'The L Word.'

Lynch's film credits include the recent Christopher Guest movie 'Mascots', 'The Three Stooges,' 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin,' 'Julie & Julia,' 'A Mighty Wind' and 'Best in Show.'

• Lynch is represented by United Talent Agency and attorney Adam Kaller