TNT Heads Back to the Library for Sequel to Smash Hit THE LIBRARIAN; Noah Wyle, Bob Newhart, Olympia Dukakis and Jane Curtin to Reprise Roles

Gabrielle Anwar Joins Cast and Jonathan Frakes Directs Story of Defender of World�s Greatest Secrets, from Executive Producer Dean Devlin

Production is underway on the sequel to the Turner Network Television�s (TNT) enormously successful original movie THE LIBRARIAN: QUEST FOR THE SPEAR, with Noah Wyle set to reprise his role as the protector of humanity�s greatest secrets, according to an announcement by Michael Wright, senior vice president of original programming for TNT. Bob Newhart (Elf, The Bob Newhart Show), Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck, Steel Magnolias) and Jane Curtin (Our Town, 3rd Rock from the Sun) will also reprise their roles from the original, with Gabrielle Anwar (Scent of a Woman) set to join the cast.

Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) will direct this eagerly anticipated sequel, with Dean Devlin (Independence Day, The Patriot) once again serving as executive producer under his Electric Entertainment banner. Marco Schnabel (Austin Powers in Goldmember) wrote the script based on characters created by David Titcher. Kearie Peak and Marc Roskin are executive producers, and Rachel Olschan is co-producer (all executives at Electric Entertainment). The sequel will premiere on TNT in 2006.

�THE LIBRARIAN: QUEST FOR THE SPEAR was a huge hit for TNT, so we are thrilled to be working with Noah and the rest of the cast on board for a sequel, and we are especially thrilled to have a talented director like Jonathan Frakes helming this project,� said Wright. �With this new installment, we�re going to push Noah�s bookish adventurer even farther, taking his character and the audience on a wild ride they�ll never forget.�

THE LIBRARIAN: QUEST FOR THE SPEAR premiered in December 2004 and ranked as ad-supported cable�s #1 movie for the year in household delivery. In the movie, Wyle plays Flynn Carsen, a brilliant man with 22 academic degrees who is hired to protect the repository of humanity�s greatest secrets, all hidden beneath the monolithic Metropolitan Library.

Wyle has received Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild recognition for his role as Dr. John Carter, which he has played for the past ten seasons on ER. Wyle�s feature credits include Enough, White Oleander, The Myth of Fingerprints and A Few Good Men. He also starred as Steve Jobs in the TNT Original The Pirates of Silicon Valley. Wyle is involved in many philanthropic causes, including the international relief organization Doctors of the World, the Human Rights Watch and Cover the Uninsured Week, bringing attention to the 44 million Americans without health insurance.

Newhart is a comedy legend and an Emmy-nominated performer famous for his deadpan comic style, on display in the 1960 comedy album, The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which for decades a record-breaking #1 hit, and his successful television series, The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. His extensive film credits include Catch-22, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Cold Turkey, Little Miss Marker, In & Out, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde and the blockbuster comedy Elf. Last year, he earned critical acclaim for his guest role on ER and he�s now featured in a recurring role on the hit, �Desperate Housewives.� PBS� award-winning �American Masters� pays tribute to Newhart on July 20.

During a career that spans more than 40 years, Dukakis has worked as an actress, director, producer, teacher and activist. She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the Norman Jewison film Moonstruck. Since then, she has starred in such hit films as Steel Magnolias, Working Girl, Look Who�s Talking, Mighty Aphrodite and Mr. Holland�s Opus. Dukakis� many television credits include all three Tales of the City miniseries, as well as the television movies The Pentagon Wars, Last of the Blonde Bombshells, A Match Made in Heaven, The Comfort Zone and the critically acclaimed miniseries Sinatra.

Curtin began her career in 1974 when she auditioned for and landed a position in the first Saturday Night Live cast. After five years on that show, she went on to star with Susan Saint James in the hit comedy Kate & Allie, then with John Lithgow in the series 3rd Rock from the Sun. Curtin�s feature film credits include How To Beat the High Co$t of Living, Antz and Coneheads, in which she reprised one of her most popular Saturday Night Live characters. She has also starred in such television movies as Divorce Wars: A Love Story, Maybe Baby, Common Ground, Tad and last year�s critically acclaimed Our Town, with Paul Newman. She has just completed filming two feature films, Piggy Bank Blues and Lobster Farm, and will star in the upcoming series Crumbs.

Anwar�s extensive feature film credits include Scent of a Woman, The Body Snatchers, The Three Musketeers, Wild Hearts Can�t Be Broken and For Love or Money, as well as Nevada, which she also co-produced. Her television film credits include Without Malice, The Ripper, Case of Evil and Try to Remember. In 1993, she was chosen by People magazine as one of the world�s 50 most beautiful people.

Dean Devlin formed Electric Entertainment in May 2001 to develop and produce franchise-driven motion pictures, television programs, interactive and music properties for the global audience. Devlin has produced and co-written some of the most successful feature films of all time, including such blockbusters as Independence Day, Godzilla and Stargate. He also produced Mel Gibson�s The Patriot. Under Electric Entertainment, he produced the Eight Legged Freaks and Cellular.

Turner Network Television (TNT), television�s destination for drama and one of cable�s top-rated networks, offers original movies and limited series, including Into the West, an epic six-week television event from DreamWorks Television and master storyteller and executive producer Steven Spielberg; original recurring series, including the detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick, and the crime thriller Wanted, with Gary Cole; powerful one-hour dramas, such as Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER, NYPD Blue, Charmed, Judging Amy and Angel, with Alias joining the line-up in September; broadcast premiere movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.