New York, NY (Top40 Charts) From global independent studio Entertainment One (eOne), Sienna Films, Wildcats Productions and Executive Producer Frank Spotnitz's Big Light Productions comes the suspense drama series Ransom, which follows crisis and hostage negotiator Eric Beaumont whose team is brought in to save lives when no one else can.
Ransom airs
Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. eOne will release new episodes for purchase on iTunes, Amazon and all other leading digital platforms weekly.
The 13-episode series is executive produced by Emmy® and Golden Globe® Winner Frank Spotnitz (The X-Files, The Man in the High Castle). Starring Luke Roberts (Wolf Hall,
Black Sails), the series is inspired by the real professional experiences of distinguished crisis negotiator Laurent Combalbert who, along with partner, Marwan Mery, is one of the world's top negotiators.
Beaumont (Roberts) understands criminals better than they do and uses his insight into human behavior to resolve the most difficult cases. Despite the stakes, Beaumont refuses to resort to violence, even when confronted by some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. While Beaumont's considerable powers of manipulation make him the best at what he does professionally, they often complicate his relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Is Beaumont being himself, or who he needs to be in order to get what he wants? It's often hard to tell.
The series kicks off with Beaumont bringing on Maxine Carlson (Sarah Greene - Penny Dreadful, Burnt), a new team member eager to prove herself. Maxine's past and a dangerous secret may pose a threat that even Beaumont is unable to resolve. Beaumont's crisis team, psych-profiler
Oliver Yates (Brandon Jay McLaren - Graceland, The Killing) and ex-cop Zara Hallam (Nazneen Contractor - Heroes Reborn, Covert Affairs), have their doubts about their new colleague.
Ransom is created by
David Vainola (Diamonds, Combat Hospital) and Spotnitz; Jennifer Kawaja, Julia Sereny of Sienna Films and
Valerie Pechels, Odile McDonald of Wildcats Productions are producers.
Ransom is a Canada-France co-production and is co-developed by TF1 and Corus Entertainment Inc., with the participation of the Centre
National du Cinema et de l'Image Animé in France as well as Canada Media Fund, and produced with the financial assistance of the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit and the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. eOne holds worldwide rights to the series, excluding French-speaking territories.
The series airs globally including on CBS in the U.S., Global Television in Canada, TF1 in France and RTL across Germany.
About Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a global independent studio that specialises in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The Company's diversified expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Through its global reach and expansive scale, powered by deep local market knowledge, the Company delivers the best content to the world.
Entertainment One's robust network includes film and television studio The Mark
Gordon Company; content creation venture Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Studios, Participant Media, and Reliance Entertainment; leading feature film production and global sales company
Sierra Pictures; unscripted television production companies Renegade 83, Paperny Entertainment and Force Four Entertainment; world-class music labels Dualtone
Music Group and Last Gang; and award-winning digital agency Secret Location.
The Company's rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 100,000 hours of film and television content and approximately 40,000 music tracks.
About Sienna Films
Helmed by Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny, Sienna Films is one of Canada's preeminent production companies. Currently in post-production is Cardinal, a serialized 6 X 1 hour detective series for Bell Media, starring Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse. Previous television series include the 13 episode Combat Hospital for Shaw TV, ABC and Sony International, and Canada-South Africa mini-series Diamonds for CBC, ABC and Antennae with
James Purefoy, Derek Jacobi and Judy Davis. The company also co-produced the Julian Fellowes-penned mini-series Titanic, a Canada-UK-Hungary co-production for ITV, Shaw Media and ABC. Sienna's feature films have been released internationally and opened at film festivals including Sundance, Toronto International, Berlin and Rotterdam. They include How She Move (Paramount Vantage/MTV Films); Touch of Pink (Sony
Pictures Classics); New Waterford Girl (Alliance Atlantis); I, Claudia; Marion Bridge and Saint Monica. Recently completed is the Canada-Irish co-production Unless starring Catherine Keener.
Born from a meeting between a French business woman in love with Canada, and a Canadian who fell in love with France; Wildcats is dedicated to the international coproduction of audiovisual content, as well as domestic production. Bringing her experience and knowledge of the international market,
Valerie Pechels comes from a successful career in distribution where she was able to develop strong connections and relationships with international producers and distributors. Joining forces with her, Odile McDonald brings her 20 years of experience as a renowned producer to the company as well as her great reputation with broadcasters and talents. Ambition and professionalism are at the heart of Wildcats' creation as
Valerie and Odile embarked on this new adventure in 2014, aiming at high quality international coproduction to deliver high profile series.
About Big Light Productions
Award-winning American writer and producer Frank Spotnitz founded Big Light Productions Ltd. in 2013 to create and oversee a diverse slate of international television series including drama, comedy, and documentaries, and has since become one of the fastest-growing independent production companies in Europe. The London and Paris-based production company's projects include the Amazon drama series The Man in the High Castle, the upcoming Medici: Masters of Florence with Richard
Madden and
Dustin Hoffman, Crossing Lines season 3, and Transporter: The Series season 2 for U.S. and international markets. Spotnitz's 20+-year career in television includes creating, writing, and producing series with networks, cable, streaming, and other production companies all over the world. His additional credits include The X-Files, Hunted,
Strike Back, Night Stalker, Robbery Homicide Division, The Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm and Millennium.
