USA NETWORK ANNOUNCES NEW LIMITED SERIES ‘EVEL’ STARRING MILO VENTIMIGLIA

From UCP, Etan Frankel Will Write And Executive Produce, With Atlas Entertainment and Wonderland Sound & Vision

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – September 5, 2019 – USA Network has ordered the Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”)-led limited series EVEL, which is based on the story of larger-than-life 70’s daredevil Evel Knievel as he prepares for his greatest death-defying feat, the historic Snake River Canyon jump. 

ABOUT EVEL

EVEL is an exhilarating portrait of a complex man living the American dream, juggling meteoric celebrity and raising a family — and facing the very real probability that his next jump will kill him. From UCP, Etan Frankel (“Sorry For Your Loss,” “Shameless,” “Animal Kingdom”) will write and executive produce the series. 

Serving as executive producers are McG, Mary Viola, and Steven Bello of Wonderland Sound & Vision; Alex Gartner, Charles Roven and Topher Rhys-Lawrence of Atlas Entertainment; and Ventimiglia. Russ Cundiff will co-executive produce on behalf of DiVide Pictures. Production is expected to begin in 2020.

“USA Network is known for big event series that celebrate heroes, rebels and icons, and what could be bigger than the story of one of the greatest thrill seekers of all time?,” said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks – USA Network and SYFY. “The incredible life and journey of Evel Knievel lends itself to a dramatic retelling, and we are excited to be partnering with Milo, McG, UCP, Atlas and Wonderland to bring this iconic American tale to our viewers.”

About Milo Ventimiglia

Milo Ventimiglia currently stars in the critically acclaimed NBC drama series “This is Us” as family patriarch Jack Pearson. The role has garnered him three Emmy Award® nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. In 2016, he reprised his role as Jess in the continuation of the drama “Gilmore Girls,” which returned with four 90-minute episodes.

His other television credits include “Heroes,” Frank Darabont’s “Mob City” and “American Dreams.” Recently, Ventimiglia starred alongside Kevin Costner and Amanda Seyfried in the feature film, “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” an adaptation of the international best-selling novel by Garth Stein. 

His other film credits include starring alongside Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy “Second Act,” playing Sylvester Stallone’s son, Rocky Jr., “Rocky Balboa” which he reprised for a memorable cameo in “Creed II.” He also had starring roles in Adam Sandler’s “That’s My Boy” and “Grown Ups 2.”

About USA Network:

USA Network, the #1 cable entertainment network for a record 13 years and counting, is home to the most compelling television properties in the industry. Serving a broad, passionate fanbase, USA’s diverse slate includes popular award-winning dramas, unfiltered family comedies, buzzy unscripted, weekly live WWE programming, and a portfolio of sought-after acquired series and movies.

USA is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. Follow on Twitter @USA_Network and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/USANetwork/.

Universal Content Productions (UCP):

UCP is a premium content studio that operates with a highly curated indie sensibility, while simultaneously leveraging the power and scale of NBCUniversal.

As fierce advocates for creators with an eclectic point of view, the UCP team develops pioneering and award-winning scripted programming with partners such as Amazon (“Homecoming”), Netflix (“The Umbrella Academy”), Hulu (“The Act”) and YouTube (“Impulse”), as well as NBCUniversal’s USA (“Mr. Robot,” “The Sinner,” “The Purge,” “Dirty John,” “Suits,” “Pearson” ) and SYFY (“Resident Alien,” “The Magicians”).

UCP’s content library also features more than 800 hours of award-winning and critically-acclaimed content, including “Monk,” “Battlestar Galactica” and “Psych.”

About Atlas Entertainment:

Atlas Entertainment, led by Academy Award® nominated producer Charles Roven, produces tent pole films, independent features, and series, which collectively have generated billions of dollars in revenues and worldwide critical acclaim. At the global theatrical box office alone, Atlas’ films have earned over $2 billion in 2016 and over $1.6 billion in 2017. Among the 100 top-grossing films of all time, Atlas has produced five: “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Dark Knight,” “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “Wonder Woman” and “Suicide Squad.” 

Atlas’ most recent feature film, J.C. Chandor’s “Triple Frontier” starring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal, was released by Netflix in March 2019 and has been watched more than 63 million times, making it Netflix’s fifth most popular original film ever. Atlas is currently in post-production on “Wonder Woman 1984,” which will be released on June 5, 2020 and in production on DCEU title “The Suicide Squad,” written by James Gunn and to be released by Warner Bros. on August 6, 2021. 

Atlas is executive producing the animated Scooby-Doo feature “Scoob” starring Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried which will be released by Warner Bros. on May 15, 2020. Past feature film projects include David O. Russell’s award-winning “American Hustle” and “Three Kings,” Chris Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Trilogy,” “Man of Steel,” “Justice League,” “Get Smart,” “The Bank Job, “Scooby-Doo,” “Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed,” “City of Angels,” and “Twelve Monkeys.” 

For television, Atlas produced the hit anthology series “Dirty John,” based on the popular true crime podcast of the same name. The show’s first season, which featured an all-star cast led by Connie Britton, Eric Bana, Juno Temple and Julie Garner became the most-watched scripted series ever among total viewers for Bravo and was nominated for Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice Awards. 

The series’ second season will start shooting later this year. “What / If,” the social thriller anthology series created by Mike Kelley and starring Renee Zellweger, Blake Jenner and Jane Levy premiered on Netflix in May. Atlas also produced the SYFY original series “12 Monkeys,” based on the 1995 Academy Award nominated film by the same title, which recently aired its fourth and final season.

About Wonderland Sound & Vision:

Wonderland Sound & Vision is a multi-faceted media company started by filmmaker McG, the executive producer of over 800 hours of prime-time network television, including the pop culture phenomena “The O.C.” (Fox), which aired for four seasons, and “Supernatural” (CW), going into its fifteenth season. 

Other television hits include “Chuck” (NBC), “Nikita” (CW), “Human Target” (Fox), “Fastlane” (Fox), “The Mysteries of Laura” (NBC), “Shadowhunters” (Freeform), and “Lethal Weapon” (Fox). In film, McG has directed six theatrical features grossing over $1.2 billion at the box office, including the blockbusters “Charlie’s Angeles” (Sony) and “Terminator: Salvation” (WB). 

Wonderland has produced the breakout feature hits “I Feel Pretty” (STX), “Rim of the World” (Netflix), “The Babysitter” (Netflix), and “The DUFF” (CBS Films). Wonderland is awaiting a September release of its fourth film for Netflix, “Tall Girl”, and is currently in post-production on its fifth film for the streaming service, “Holidate”, starring Emma Roberts.

About DiVide Pictures:

DiVide Pictures was formed in 2004 by actor/producer Milo Ventimiglia and producer Russ Cundiff. DiVide specializes in film and television development and creating original digital content, as well IP creation.

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