Emmy Award Winner BRADLEY WHITFORD ("Get Out," "The Post," "The West Wing"), STEVE ZAHN ("War of the Planet of the Apes," ABC's "The Crossing") and LAMORNE MORRIS ("Game Night," "New Girl") TO STAR IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S VALLEY OF THE BOOM, SIX-PART LIMITED SERIES SET IN '90S TECH BUBBLE FROM STXtv
John Karna ("Lady Bird," MTV's "Scream"), Oliver Cooper ("Red Oaks," Project X," "Californication") and Dakota Shapiro ("The Affair") to Round out Ensemble Cast
From Showrunner/Director Matthew Carnahan and
Executive Producer Arianna Huffington
Valley of the Boom Begins Filming March 26 in Vancouver
(WASHINGTON, D.C.- March 16, 2018) National Geographic taps two-time Emmy award-winning actor Bradley Whitford ("Get Out," "The Post," "The West Wing"), Steve Zahn ("War of the Planet of the Apes," ABC's "The Crossing") and Lamorne Morris ("Game Night," "New Girl") to star in six-part limited series, Valley of the Boom. From STXtv, the television division of Robert Simonds' STX Entertainment, along with creator, showrunner, director and executive producer Matthew Carnahan (Showtime's "House of Lies") and executive producer Arianna Huffington, Valley of the Boom will begin filming March 26 in Vancouver, Canada.
Silicon Valley spawned some of the world's most influential people and recognizable brands during the 1990s tech bubble. Valley of the Boom pulls back the curtain and introduces the audience to the real stories of these founders' friendships, rivalries, victories and failures. Told with unparalleled access to the most groundbreaking and prominent figures in the tech world, the six-part limited series will follow the stories that made the history of the era.
"Silicon Valley was and is a strange place; a Hollywood for geniuses," said Carnahan. "The dotcom boom of the '90s opened the floodgates for not just the amazing makers, but also Wall Street, mass media and a collection of fascinating charlatans. I'm thrilled to have Bradley, Steve, Lamorne and this stellar cast lined up, especially because all of them are disruptors in their own way, just like the real people they're portraying."
Rounding out the ensemble cast is John Karna ("Lady Bird," MTV's "Scream"), who will play Marc Andreesen, a computer engineer who co-created Mosaic, the first internet browser. Dakota Shapiro ("The Affair") and Oliver Cooper ("Red Oaks, "Project X") play Ivy League undergraduates who launched theglobe.com, one of the very first social networking sites, out of their dorm room.
"Valley of the Boom tells the surprising, provocative and inspiring stories of Silicon Valley's early pioneers," said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president global scripted development and production for National Geographic. "Matthew and his team have figured out an organic and dynamic way to interweave interviews with real-life Silicon Valley icons to amplify and enhance the authenticity and unpredictability of this fascinating true story."
"Matthew has written an original and riveting series with Valley of the Boom, in an incredibly unique format that is sure to keep audiences engaged and on the edge of their seats," said Jada Miranda, EVP and head of scripted television at STXtv. "We're honored to bring these powerful stories to screen with National Geographic, and could not have asked for a better cast to help introduce this unbelievable time in American history to audiences across the globe."
The series will air in early 2019 on National Geographic in 172 countries and 43 languages. STX will distribute the series in China, continuing the company's strategy to bridge the U.S. and Chinese markets.
Valley of the Boom is produced by STX Entertainment's TV studio, STXtv, for National Geographic along with creator, showrunner, director and executive producer Carnahan (Showtime's "House of Lies") at the helm and executive producer Huffington (founder of The Huffington Post, founder and CEO of Thrive Global and the author of 15 books, including "Thrive" and "The Sleep Revolution").
Carnahan and Huffington are joined by fellow executive producers Jason Goldberg (E!'s "The Platinum Life," MTV's "Punk'd"), Brant Pinvidic (Spike TV's "Bar Rescue"), David Walpert ("House of Lies," "New Girl") and co-executive producers David Newsom, who will lead the nonscripted unit of the production, and Gary Goldman. Joel Ehninger of Matthew Carnahan Circus Products boards as co-executive producer. For National Geographic, Bernstein is executive vice president global scripted development and production, and for STXtv Jada Miranda is EVP and head of scripted television, responsible for development and oversight of all of STXtv's scripted projects.
For more information, visit www.natgeotvpressroom.com, or follow us on Twitter using @NGC_PR.
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About National Geographic Partners LLC
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between National Geographic and 21st Century Fox, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 129 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers ... and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
About STXtv
STXtv is a division of STX Entertainment, a global next-generation media company whose mission is to unlock the value of the direct connection stars have with their fans through the development, financing, production, marketing and distribution of film, television, VR, digital video, music and live entertainment content. It is the industry leader in transforming beyond traditional platform-driven content to creating talent-driven enterprises.
The company is led by accomplished businessman Robert Simonds and was co-founded by Bill McGlashan, managing partner of the leading global private investment firm TPG. Other investors include Hony Capital, a leading private equity firm in China; PCCW, Southeast Asia's largest Internet and cable services provider; Tencent Holdings, China's leading provider of online products and services; Liberty Global, the world's largest international television and broadband company; Dominic Ng, chairman of East West Bank; DNS Capital (representing the business interests of Gigi Pritzker and her immediate family); and Beau Wrigley, former chairman and CEO of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, among others. With these strategic relationships, the company is uniquely positioned to maximize the impact of content worldwide, with direct passage into the China market.
For more information, please visit https://www.stxentertainment.com/.
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