Ben Stiller’s Escape at Dannemora Set for Showtime

Showtime has greenlit production on Escape at Dannemora, a new limited series executive produced and directed by Ben Stiller.

Academy Award winners Benicio del Toro (Traffic) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) lead the cast, alongside Golden Globe nominee Paul Dano (Love & Mercy, There Will Be Blood). The eight-episode limited series is based on the account of a prison break in upstate New York in the summer of 2015, which spawned a massive manhunt for two convicted murderers who were aided in their escape by a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.

Produced by Showtime, Escape at Dannemora will be written and executive produced by Brett Johnson (Mad Men) and Michael Tolkin (The Player). In addition to Stiller, Johnson and Tolkin, the executive producers will be Bryan Zuriff (Ray Donovan), Michael De Luca (Captain Phillips, The Social Network, Fifty Shades of Grey) via Michael De Luca Productions, and Nicky Weinstock for Red Hour Productions.

“We are all very intent on trying to tell this singular story in a way that shows the reality and humanity of the people involved,” said Stiller. “While the genre is a prison escape story, at its core it is a story about real people, some criminals and some not, who make some bad choices that have huge consequences. I think that’s what’s so compelling about this.”

“I’m very excited about Escape at Dannemora and about working with Ben, Benicio, Michael, Brett and Showtime on this fascinating and dark American love story rooted in real and self-deceptive incarceration,” said Arquette.