PAX TV TO PREMIERE �YOUNG BLADES,� NEW PRIMETIME ACTION
ADVENTURE SERIES, ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 23 AT 8PM ET/PT
- A New Generation of Brash, Young Musketeers Stars Michael Ironside,
Bruce Boxleitner, Tobias Mehler, Karen Cliche, Mark Hildreth and Zak Santiago-
(West Palm Beach, FL � December 15, 2004) � �Young Blades,� PAX TV�s fun-filled, primetime action adventure series, is set to premiere Sunday, January 23 at 8PM ET/PT. The 22-episode, hour-long program is unlike anything else on television, following a new generation of swashbucklers inspired by the legendary Three Musketeers. Created by the Emmy award-winning writing team of Billy Brown and Dan Angel (�Door To Door,� �Night Visions�), �Young Blades� is a fun and action-packed tale that uses 17th century France as its backdrop and takes inspiration from the classic story. The series is produced by Shavick/Insight Studio in association with The Hatchery, LLC, co-founded by Margaret Loesch and Bruce Stein. �Young Blades� is currently filming near Vancouver, British Columbia, and is being shot entirely in high definition.
The series brings together a dynamic cast. Joining Hollywood veterans Michael Ironside (�Total Recall,� �The Perfect Storm�) and Bruce Boxleitner (�Scarecrow and Mrs. King,� �Babylon 5�) is a vibrant group of young actors including Tobias Mehler (�Taken,� �Stargate SG-1�), Karen Cliche (�I Do, But I Don�t,� �Mutant X�), Zak Santiago (�Traffic: The Miniseries, �The L Word�), Mark Hildreth (�Legend of Earthsea,� �Dragon Ball Z�) and newcomer to U.S. television screens, the young Irish actor Robbie Sheehan.
�Young Blades� is set back in time over 400 years where the budding and chivalrous swordsmen learn the tricks of the trade from masters, including Captain Duval (Boxleitner), at the Musketeers military academy. D�Artagnan (Mehler), the son of the legendary Musketeer of the same name, is a ladies man as well as a fighter. He is challenged to become an even better warrior after he learns that his fellow student, Jacques (Cliche), a phenomenal swordsman, has a deep secret: Jacques is really Jacqueline, a young woman who masquerades as a man in order to escape a price on her head and avenge the death of her father and imprisonment of her brother at the hands of the evil Mazarin (Ironside). The other Young Blades are the rebellious Ramon (Santiago), a poet who was disowned by his aristocratic Spanish family, but now calls the academy home, and Siroc (Hildreth), a precocious inventor who dreams up �crazy� ideas such as submarines and flying machines and then builds them, 17th century style. The Musketeers� loyalty lies with their homeland and protecting France�s young King Louis (Sheehan) from the evil genius, Cardinal Mazarin.
The production has recreated 17th century France, from Paris streets to castles, carriages and dungeons; from canals and rivers to underground sanctums. �Young Blades� has one of the most lavish and period-authentic sets ever seen on television.
Brown and Angel also serve as executive producers of �Young Blades,� along with Kirk Shaw (�Killer Bees,� �Monster Island�), James Shavick (�Eve�s Christmas,� �The New Addams Family�) and Georges Campana (�Tempo,� �Paradise Found�). The series is directed by Ron Oliver (�The Chris Isaak Show,� �Queer as Folk�), Richard Martin (�Da Vinci�s Inquest, �The Chris Isaak Show�) and George Erschbamer (�Bounty Hunters,� �Marco Polo�). Ned Nalle (�Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,� �Blind Date�) and his wife, former child actress Karen Doctrice Nalle (�Mary Poppins�), are creative consultants.
About Shavick/Insight
Shavick/Insight represents the partnering of two of Vancouver�s busiest production houses, Shavick Entertainment (with over 50 movie productions to its credit) and Insight Film (with over 10 years of documentary and television series production). Combined, Shavick/Insight is now Vancouver�s busiest production house with 12 movie projects and a dramatic series going to camera this year.
About The Hatchery, LLC
The Hatchery, LLC, is a production and marketing company and developer of intellectual properties in the family and kids arena. Since launching in April 2003, The Hatchery has acquired more than 20 franchise properties; produced and released television and feature film projects; and partnered in patented consumer products. The Hatchery�s partners are Emmy and Peabody Award winner Margaret Loesch, founding President and CEO of The Hallmark Channel and founding President and CEO of Fox Kids Worldwide; Bruce Stein, former Worldwide President/COO of Mattel, Inc.; and Emmy and Peabody Award winning writer and producer Dan Angel.
About PAX TV
Paxson Communications Corporation owns and operates the nation�s largest broadcast television distribution system and the PAX TV network. PAX TV reaches 87% of U.S. television households via nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. PAX TV�s original programming slate for the 2004-2005 broadcast season features the critically acclaimed unscripted series, �Cold Turkey�; a new scripted drama, �Young Blades�; two entertaining variety programs, �America�s Most Talented Kids� and �World Cup Comedy,� executive produced by Kelsey Grammer; and two fast-paced game shows, �On the Cover� and �Balderdash.� Returning series include PAX�s top-rated dramas, �Doc� and �Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye.� For more information, visit PAX TV�s website at www.pax.tv.
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