Airing Six Series, Numerous Original Movies and the Live Tyson vs. Etienne Heavyweight Match in High Definition

 

NEW YORK, NY (February 10, 2003): Showtime Networks has long recognized that high-definition programming is critical to the future of television. As a leader in innovative broadcast technology, the company has committed to substantially increasing the amount of programming available in this revolutionary format for 2003. In addition to the Mike Tyson/Clifford Etienne heavyweight boxing match slated for February 22, the company will also be airing six of its original series and many of its original movies in HDTV in the coming year.

 

The series will include returning hits such as QUEER AS FOLK, The Chris Isaak Show and JEREMIAH, as well as newly announced additions to the line-up, EARTHLINGS, DEAD LIKE ME and the limited series OUT OF ORDER. The series will be broadcast in 1080I, the highest resolution transmission format currently available -- a resolution six times the quality of traditional television. The majority of SHOWTIME original movies, produced by the network and its production partners, will also be airing in HDTV including STEALING SINATRA, OUT OF THE ASHES, GOOD FENCES, THE MALDONADO MIRACLE, COAST TO COAST, SPINNING BORIS, and SOLDIER'S GIRL.

 

Showtime Networks is a pioneer in HDTV and was the first premium television network to launch a series fully produced in HDTV in 2002. The company was also the first network to launch Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound in conjunction with HDTV in 2000, and currently broadcasts this distinct audio enhancement on all of its 32 channels. In addition, the company has also made strides in other multimedia arenas and is currently the only U.S. television network doing program synchronous Interactive Television (ITV) on all SHOWTIME programming, on all leading platforms.

 

The decision to produce and air these series in HDTV furthers the network's commitment to technological innovation and enhances the company's leadership position in this exciting new format. It also underlines Showtime Networks' continuing commitment to bring viewers the best home entertainment experience possible. SHO HDTV is available to over 30 million multichannel video households via Charter, Comcast, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish Network, and Time Warner Cable.

 

THE SERIES:THE CHRIS ISAAK SHOW   Renewed for a third season, THE CHRIS ISAAK SHOW is a quirky 'behind the scenes' look at the unusual life of celebrated rock star Chris Isaak. The show stars Chris Isaak, Kristin Dattilo, Jed Rees, Bobby Jo Moore and Silvertone band members Kenney Dale Johnson, Rowland Salley and Hershel Yatovitz.JEREMIAH, starring Luke Perry, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Sean Astin, is set in a future post-apocalyptic world where, almost a decade before, a deadly virus wiped out the world's adult population. Now, the survivors of the "Big Death" are trying to create a civilization out of the chaos that ensued. QUEER AS FOLK stars Michelle Clunie, Robert Gant, Thea Gill, Gale Harold, Randy Harrison, Scott Lowell, Peter Paige, Hal Sparks and Sharon Gless. The show, which has been renewed for a third and fourth season through 2004, focuses on the relationships, careers, loves and ambitions of a group of young gay men and lesbians living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. EARTHLINGS features an ensemble cast including Jennifer Beals, Scott Bairstow, Erin Daniels, Leisha Hailey, Laurel Hollomon, Mia Kirshner, Karina Lombard, Katherine Moennig and Pam Grier. EARTHLINGS is the intimate story about the lives and loves of a group of lesbian friends living in Los Angeles.

 

OUT OF ORDER stars Emmy®-nominee Eric Stoltz, Felicity Huffman, Kim Dickens, Dyllan Christopher with Justine Bateman. The 2-hour season premiere will also guest star Academy Award® and Emmy®-nominee William H. Macy and Oscar"-nominated director/actor Peter Bogdanovich. Written by by Donna Powers & Wayne Powers the series offers a distinctive look at scenes from a modern, troubled marriage. It is told from the point of view of the husband who is torn between his love of a clinically depressed wife and his attraction for another woman.

 

DEAD LIKE ME centers on a disaffected young woman who is suddenly killed when a piece of the MIR space station hurtles to Earth and hits her in the head. Georgia "George" Lass, played by exciting newcomer Ellen Muth, is surprised to discover that an afterlife does exist, and that she's already been assigned a job. Her new boss is Rube, played by Broadway and film star Mandy Patinkin. Also starring in the pilot are Callum Blue, Rebecca Gayheart, Jasmine Guy, Callum Blue with Cynthia Stevenson.