New Adventure Drama Slated for BBC Two

LONDON, December 17: The
new 13-part thriller Defying Gravity, starring Ron Livingston of The Time Traveler's Wife, begins filming in Canada in January for broadcast
on BBC Two later next year.

The new adventure drama
series is from creator and executive producer James Parriott (Grey's Anatomy) and executive producer Michael Edelstein (Desperate
Housewives). The cast also
includes Laura Harris (24, Stargate, CSI),
Eyal Podell (Commander In Chief,
The Young and the Restless),
Christina Cox (Stargate: Atlantis),
Zahf Paroo (Firewall) and
Florentine Lahme. Further casting will follow.

Defying Gravity is a U.S./Canadian co-venture with Fox Television
Studios and Omni Film Productions in association with Canadian broadcasters CTV
and SPACE, German broadcaster ProSieben and the BBC.

Janice Hadlow, the
controller of BBC Two, said: "In 2009 it will be 40 years since man first
landed on the moon and yet the subject of space remains as mysterious and fascinating
as ever, making it a timely and compelling backdrop for this epic
adventure."

Jane Tranter, BBC's
controller of fiction, added: "The caliber of the talent involved in this
drama series both in front and behind the scenes makes Defying Gravity one of the most exciting new series for 2009.
Although primarily a human drama, the landscape and context and genre of Defying
Gravity give it a very different
flavor from other dramas on the BBC."

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski