or


[10/07/08 - 12:29 PM]
Terry Pratchett's the Color of Magic Set to Make U.S. Debut on Ion Television
Sean Astin, Tim Curry and Sir David Jason star in the four-hour event, airing Sunday, November 23 at 7:00/6:00c.

[via press release from ION Media Networks]

TERRY PRATCHETT'S THE COLOR OF MAGIC SET TO MAKE U.S. DEBUT ON ION TELEVISION

RHI Original Miniseries Starring Sean Astin, Tim Curry and Sir David Jason, To Premiere Sunday, November 23

(West Palm Beach, Fla. and New York, N.Y. � October 07, 2008) � ION Television, the "Positively Entertaining" general entertainment network available to over 94 million homes, and RHI Entertainment, the leader in the production and distribution of groundbreaking movies, miniseries and series for television, today announced the U.S. debut of The Color of Magic, a four-hour original production making its television premiere on ION Television on Sunday, November 23 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The miniseries will be broadcast in its entirety in one evening.

Based on the first two books in best-selling author Terry Pratchett's hugely popular Discworld series, The Color of Magic stars Oscar nominee Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Toy Soldiers, Rudy), Emmy nominee Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, Kinsey) and Sir David Jason (RHI's Hogfather). Additionally, Emmy Award-winning actor Brian Cox (Bourne trilogy, Running with Scissors) serves as the narrator and Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars Episodes II and III) takes on the vocal role of Death.

Discworld, a magical realm, has got its first tourist! Rincewind (Sir David Jason), an incompetent and cynical wizardry student, has recently been expelled from Unseen University and been given the task of guiding Twoflower (Sean Astin) through the city state of Ankh Morpork. The two are forced to flee the city after a terrible fire and are sent on a fantastical journey across the Disc, which is unknowingly being controlled by a board game played by the Gods. Along the way Rincewind encounters a few problems: firstly, as an expert coward, he doesn't feel he's the best person to guard a naive - and extremely rich, by local standards - tourist through one of the roughest cities in the multiverse. Then, of course, Rincewind experiences a vicious and bloody struggle with his arch-enemy, the power-hungry maniac Trymon (Tim Curry). Oh, and the world is coming to an end. Can Rincewind defeat his nemesis and save Discworld from ultimate destruction?

This critically acclaimed mini-series, which first debuted overseas, received rave reviews from the British press. TV Easy called it "visually stunning"; "Menacing performances from Tim Curry and Jeremy Irons are great." � TV Times; "With a starry cast, it's a wild adventure through a land full of magic and mystery." � TV Choice; "The two-part adventure will have you spellbound." � We Love Telly; and "It's the Lord of the Rings with a comic twist." � Bella.

"Originals such as The Color of Magic are invigorating ION Television," said Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO of ION Media Networks. "We are thrilled to provide compelling productions, airing alongside proven hit series, as we continue to build an entertaining network geared at the adult 25-54 audience."

"Major productions such as The Color of Magic are rapidly making the RHI movies on ION synonymous with must-see television," said Robert Halmi Jr., President and CEO of RHI Entertainment. "As we continue to deliver the finest in original event programming, awareness keeps growing and viewership keeps building." As one of the most popular authors today, Terry Pratchett has sold nearly 55 million books worldwide. Also based on another of Mr. Pratchett's Discworld novels, RHI's hit miniseries Hogfather aired on ION Television in November 2007. With a fan base spreading around the globe, the series of 36 Discworld books has been translated into over 35 languages.

Attracting over a million viewers, The Color of Magic first broadcast on Sky One, a UK entertainment TV channel, in March of 2008. The two-part television adaptation was well received by fans, garnering Sky One's highest performing program to date and scoring the largest audiences for the network since Hogfather aired in December of 2006.

The Color of Magic was filmed at London's legendary Pinewood Studios. The film was produced by Ian Sharples and Rod Brown and directed by Vadim Jean, who also directed RHI's Hogfather. RHI's Robert Halmi Sr. and Robert Halmi Jr. serve as executive producers on the project.

About ION Television

ION Television (www.iontelevision.com) is a general entertainment network which reaches over 94 million U.S. television households via its nationwide broadcast television, cable and satellite distribution systems. Launched in 2006, ION Television features popular TV series and movies from the award-winning libraries of RHI Entertainment, CBS Television, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Twentieth Television and Warner Bros. Parent company, ION Media Networks, Inc., owns and operates the nation's largest broadcast television station group. Using its digital multicasting capability, ION Media Networks has launched the digital TV brands qubo, a channel for children focusing on literacy and values, and ION Life, a channel dedicated to active living and personal growth. It also has launched Open Mobile Ventures Corporation (OMVION), a business unit focused on the research and development of portable, mobile and out-of-home transmission technology using over-the-air digital television spectrum. For more information, visit www.ionmedia.com.

About RHI Entertainment

RHI Entertainment (NASDAQ: RHIE) develops, produces and distributes new made-for-television movies, miniseries and other television programming worldwide, and is the leading provider of new long-form television content in the United States. Under the leadership of Robert Halmi, Sr. and Robert Halmi, Jr., RHI has produced and distributed thousands of hours of quality television programming, and RHI's productions have received more than 100 Emmy Awards. During 2007, RHI developed, produced and distributed 43 new television movies and miniseries to broadcast and cable networks around the world. In addition to the development, production and distribution of new content, RHI owns rights to approximately 1,000 titles, or over 3,500 broadcast hours of long-form television programming, which are licensed to broadcast and cable networks and new media outlets globally. For more consumer information visit www.rhitv.com.





  [october 2008]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· COLOR OF MAGIC, THE (ION)
· HOGFATHER (ION)





[02/11/25 - 01:15 PM]
FOX "Super Week" Kicks Off, Breaking Records with "The Floor" as Season's #1 Entertainment Series Telecast and New Survival Competition "Extracted" Off to a Wild Start
For six consecutive seasons, FOX has delivered the highest-rated unscripted entertainment series telecast.

[02/11/25 - 12:28 PM]
HBO Announces the End of Filming for the Second Season of "City of God: The Fight Rages On"
The second season, consisting of six episodes, was filmed in several locations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

[02/11/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Feb. 3: "Kinda Pregnant" Delivers, "The Night Agent" Holds Strong in Top 10
Fans also basked in the Southern charm of Season 4 of "Sweet Magnolias," which debuted at No. 4 in English TV (4 million views), and flocked to the Australian limited series "Apple Cider Vinegar" (No. 5 in English TV, 3.8 million views).

[02/11/25 - 11:38 AM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of Super Bowl LIX Delivers Most-Watched Super Bowl of All-Time with 127.7 Million Viewers Across All Platforms
Philadelphia's big win in the bayou peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter (8:00 PM - 8:15 PM ET), per Nielsen Media Research.

[02/11/25 - 11:24 AM]
TNT Sports to Showcase NBA All-Star 2025 Across TNT, TBS, truTV, Bleacher Report & Max, Feb. 14-16, from San Francisco Bay Area
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game - TNT's 23rd consecutive year airing the event - will feature a new mini-tournament format, with the 24 NBA All-Star selections divided evenly into three teams and the fourth team composed of the Castrol Rising Stars champions.

[02/11/25 - 11:08 AM]
Karl Ravech, David Cone, Eduardo Perez and Buster Olney Return for Fourth Season as ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball" Broadcast Team
The 36th season of "Sunday Night Baseball" begins on March 30, when the San Diego Padres host the Atlanta Braves at 7 p.m. ET.

[02/11/25 - 11:04 AM]
Paramount+ to Exclusively Premiere "Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party" on Tuesday, March 11
The news marks the first time the fully restored version of the classic '80s documentary from legendary and Academy Award-winning director Cameron Crowe will be widely available to a global audience.

[02/11/25 - 11:01 AM]
"The Day of the Jackal" Becomes Peacock's Most-Watched New Original Drama Series
Viewership of the series in its first 75 days has surpassed that of any other original drama series in the same timeframe.

[02/11/25 - 10:00 AM]
Video: Starz Releases Gripping Trailer for Season Four of Its Hit Series "Power Book III: Raising Kanan"
Season three of "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" averaged over 9M viewers per episode, hitting a high compared to the prior season.

[02/11/25 - 10:00 AM]
"Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood," An "Entertainment Tonight" Five-Part Behind-the-Scenes Special, to Air Monday, Feb. 17 Through Friday, Feb. 21 on CBS
The five-part news special, hosted by Kevin Frazier and comedian and television host Sheryl Underwood, airs in the week leading up to the series premiere, Monday, February 24 (2:00-3:00 PM, ET; 1:00-2:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.

[02/11/25 - 09:56 AM]
Amy Adams Joins Javier Bardem in "Cape Fear" - A New Series Coming to Apple TV+
The duo will star in Nick Antosca's adaptation of the classic thriller.

[02/11/25 - 09:39 AM]
First Look and Date Announcement: "Jessica Kirson: I'm the Man"
The special will premiere on Friday, April 25 and is the sixth original special in Hulu's new stand-up comedy initiative, Hularious.

[02/11/25 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "Deli Boys" - Official Trailer - Hulu
When their convenience store-magnate father suddenly dies, a pair of pampered Pakistani American brothers (Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh) lose everything and are forced to reckon with their Baba's secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld.

[02/11/25 - 09:31 AM]
Dave Chappelle Named President's Award Recipient for "56th NAACP Image Awards"
Previous recipients include Usher, Gabrielle Union-Wade, Dwyane Wade, Rihanna, LeBron James, Kerry Washington, Spike Lee, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter, and Ms. Lauryn Hill.

[02/11/25 - 09:18 AM]
Showtime Original Series "Dexter: Resurrection" Adds Emmy and Golden Globe Winner Peter Dinklage
Dinklage will play the series regular role of Leon Prater, a billionaire venture capitalist.