SKY Network Television : SECURES DARING NEW DRAMA THE LOOMING TOWER FROM LEGENDARY TV

SKY has secured the exclusive premiere broadcast rights to the highly-anticipated new series The Looming Tower for New Zealand.

Starring Jeff Daniels, Alec Baldwin and Peter Sarsgaard, The Looming Tower traces the rising threat of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and takes a controversial look at how the rivalry between the CIA and FBI may have inadvertently set the stage for the 9/11 tragedy and the war in Iraq.

'The production values of this adaptation are outstanding and it is important to both SKY and Legendary TV that a story of this magnitude deserves to be screened in a respectful manner,' said SKY's Head of Entertainment Content Karen Bieleski.

'We are delighted to have secured this key title for local fans of great drama. It's the perfect addition to our SoHo premium line up for 2018 where it will screen, uncut and uninterrupted, in a prime-time slot.'

Expected to premiere early next year, it stars Emmy Award®-winner Jeff Daniels in a return to the small screen following HBO's critically-acclaimed The Newsroom, and multiple Golden Globe, Emmy® and Screen Actors Guild Award®-winner Alec Baldwin. The 10-episode series is based on the Pulitzer Prize winning expose of the same name by Lawrence Wright.

Adapted for television by Academy Award®-nominated writer Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher, Capote) and directed by Academy Award® and Emmy Award®-winning director Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief, Taxi to the Dark Side, and We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks), it also stars Tahar Rahim, Bill Gamp, Michael Stuhlbarg, Virginia Kull, Sullivan Jones and Wrenn Schmidt.

'The Looming Tower is an important piece of factual storytelling brought to life by an incredibly talented and award-winning creative team and cast. From the exceptional writing to the high production values, viewers will experience first-hand what really happened in the months and days leading up to 9/11. Legendary is pleased to partner with SKY New Zealand to share this powerful global series with their viewers,' said Michael Grindon, President, Worldwide Distribution, Legendary Television.

Futterman, Gibney and Wright serve as executive producers on the series which recently wrapped production in New York.

Details on timing of the New Zealand premiere for The Looming Tower will be released in the coming months.