Bell Media announced today that it has secured the big-buzz drama MANHATTAN in its first Canadian window from Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader (MAD MEN, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, The Hunger Games, Divergent), for its new subscription on-demand video streaming service, code-named “Project Latte”. A tent-pole series immediately available at launch, MANHATTAN becomes the first “Project Latte Exclusive” – TV series that will only be available to “Project Latte” subscribers.
The acclaimed drama will be joined in subsequent months by the comedy series DEADBEAT, also from Lionsgate; the crime thriller BOSCH, from Red Arrow International; and additional series, as “Project Latte Exclusives.” Canada’s premium TV streaming service, “Project Latte” will launch later this year.
From nine-time Emmy® Award-winning Director Thomas Schlamme (THE WEST WING), the 13-episode one-hour drama MANHATTAN follows one of the best-kept secrets of all time – the mission to build the world’s first atomic bomb.
“MANHATTAN is the MAD MEN of the Atomic Era, and as a result is the perfect serialized drama to launch our ‘Exclusives’ strategy for Project Latte,” said Mike Cosentino, Senior Vice-President, Programming, Bell Media. “Strategically, we are proactively serving the strong subscriber appetite for exclusive programming, and we’re proud to start with this incredibly accomplished drama, along with the light-hearted comedy DEADBEAT and murder-mystery BOSCH.”
“We’re delighted to extend and expand our relationship with Bell Media and support the launch of their Project Latte streaming service with shows as diverse as MANHATTAN and DEADBEAT,” said Lionsgate President of Worldwide Television & Digital Distribution Jim Packer. “This deal underscores our commitment to deliver premium, quality content to online platforms as great partners like Bell Media continue to diversify the choices they offer their audiences.”
The 10-episode, half-hour comedy series DEADBEAT, starring Canada’s Tyler Labine, focuses on an offbeat medium for hire. Based on the award-winning crime fiction novels of author Michael Connelly, the 10-episode, one-hour drama BOSCH follows an LAPD homicide detective as he works to solve the murder of a 13-year-old boy.
MANHATTAN
Set in the 1940s, MANHATTAN depicts the wonder, danger, and deceit that shadowed the first “nuclear” families. The series follows Frank Winter (John Benjamin Hickey, THE BIG C) and his team of brilliant scientists who have been recruited to work on a classified project on a dusty foothill in the New Mexico desert. The team quickly begins to sense that this is no ordinary assignment. In fact, they are living in a town with the world’s highest concentration of geniuses, yet it can’t be found on any map – a place where men and women are torn between duty and their moral values, husbands and wives conceal the truth from each other and their families, the military keeps secrets from the scientists they chaperone, and the scientists keep secrets from each other.
The series also stars Olivia Williams (Rushmore) as Liza Winter; Daniel Stern (Home Alone) as Glen Babbit; Ashley Zukerman (THE CODE) as Charlie Isaacs; Rachel Brosnahan (OLIVE KITTERIDGE) as Abby Isaacs; Katja Herbers (DIVORCE) as Helen Prins; Vancouver native Alexia Fast (Jack Reacher) as Callie Winter; Christopher Denham (Argo) as Jim Meeks; Harry Lloyd (GAME OF THRONES) as Paul Crosley; Michael Chernus (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) as Louis “Fritz” Fedowitz; and Eddie Shin (MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE) as Sid Liao.
DEADBEAT
DEADBEAT follows Kevin Pacalioglu (Brampton, Ont. native Tyler Labine, MAD LOVE), a medium for hire who attempts to solve various ghosts’ unresolved problems, so that they can move on to a final resting place, occasionally with the help of his best friend and drug dealer, Roofie (Brandon T. Jackson, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters). DEADBEAT also stars Cat Deeley (SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE) as medium Camomile and Lucy DeVito (IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA) as Sue.
BOSCH
Co-written by Emmy Award nominee Eric Overmyer (THE WIRE) and award-winning crime author Michael Connelly, BOSCH follows a relentless LAPD homicide detective named Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch (Titus Welliver, MARVEL AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.) as he works to solve the murder of a 13-year-old boy while standing trial in federal court for the murder of a serial killer. The series also stars Amy Aquino (BEING HUMAN) as Grace Billets and Amy Price-Francis (KING) as Sunny “Money” Chander.
In October, Bell Media announced a new video streaming service devoted exclusively to the best content on television, code-named “Project Latte”. The service will feature thousands of hours of content representing TV’s top premium brands, including the entire off-air library of HBO’s iconic programming catalogue, and an unmatchable comedy slate headlined by SEINFELD and featuring every single episode of MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS (1969-1974). Additional details about “Project Latte” – including its final name – will be announced in the weeks to come.
