Starz announced today that Tony(R)-nominated Ben Daniels ("House of Cards," "Law & Order: UK") will star as the volatile and brilliant artistic director 'Paul Grayson' in new Original drama "Flesh and Bone."
"Flesh and Bone," was created by Emmy(R) award-winning "Breaking Bad" writer and Executive Producer, Moira Walley-Beckett and follows a young ballet dancer with a distinctly troubled past as she joins a prestigious ballet company in New York. The dark and gritty series will unflinchingly explore the dysfunction and glamour of the ballet world.
Acclaimed dancer
Sarah Hay (Black Swan) has been cast in the lead role, joining an already stellar cast of world-renowned dancers, including former
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer
Irina Dvorovenko and current soloist Sascha Radetsky, along with Ballet Arizona company dancer Raychel Diane Weiner and
Emily Tyra ("Boardwalk Empire"). Royal New Zealand Ballet artistic director and celebrated former
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer
Ethan Stiefel will be the series choreographer. Acclaimed director David Mich?d (Animal Kingdom, The Rover) will direct the first episode. Ms. Walley-Beckett will serve as Executive Producer along with Lawrence Bender (Oscar nominated for Inglourious Basterds, Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting),
Kevin Brown ("Roswell") and John Melfi ("Sex and the City," "House of Cards," "Nurse Jackie," "Rome"). Bender, Brown and Walley-Beckett all have connections to the world of ballet, which brought them together with
Starz on this project. Bender and Walley-Beckett are former ballet dancers, and Brown's family is made up entirely of former ballet dancers, and their story was the basis for the Oscar-nominated film, The Turning Point.
Production is scheduled to begin in New York City in spring 2014. "Flesh and Bone" will debut on
Starz in 2015.
Starz will retain all domestic and international multiplatform rights including television, home entertainment, and digital.
About
Ben Daniels:
BEN DANIELS credits include Roundabout's Don't Dress for Dinner, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Tony nomination, Drama League nomination, Outer Critics Circle nomination, Theatre World Award winner). Theatre includes, at the
Royal National Theatre: Thérèse Raquin, Iphigenia at Aulis, Three Sisters, All My Sons (Olivier Award, WhatsonStage Award). For the
Donmar Warehouse: Luise Miller, The Wild Duck, The God of Hell, Tales From Hollywood.
About Starz
Starz (NASDAQ: STRZA, STRZB) is a leading integrated global media and entertainment company with operating units that provide premium subscription video programming on domestic U.S. pay television channels (Starz Networks), global content distribution (Starz Distribution) and animated television and movie production (Starz Animation), www.starz.com.
Starz Networks is a leading provider of premium subscription video programming through the flagship STARZ(R) and ENCORE(R) pay TV networks which showcase premium original programming and movies to U.S. multichannel video distributors, including cable operators, satellite television providers, and telecommunications companies. As of December 31, 2013,
Starz and ENCORE serve a combined 57.1 million subscribers, including 22.2 million at STARZ, and 34.9 million at ENCORE, making them the largest pair of premium flagship channels in the U.S. STARZ(R) and ENCORE(R), along with
Starz Networks' third network MOVIEPLEX(R), air over 1,000 movies monthly across 17 linear networks, complemented by On Demand and authenticated online offerings through
Starz PLAY, ENCORE PLAY, and MOVIEPLEX PLAY.
Starz Distribution develops, produces and acquires entertainment content, distributing it to consumers globally on DVD, digital formats and traditional television.
Starz Distribution's home video, digital media and worldwide distribution business units distribute original programming content produced by Starz, as well as entertainment content for itself and third parties.
Starz Animation produces animated TV and movie content for studios, networks, distributors and audiences worldwide.
Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos
