SCI FI CHANNEL'S 'BATTLESTAR' GETS LAWLESS

Lucy Lawless Joins the Cast of 'Battlestar Galactica' For 10-Episode Arc in Its Upcoming Third Season

New York, NY � February 6, 2006 � SCI FI Channel has added Lucy Lawless to the cast of its white-hot original series 'Battlestar Galactica.' Lawless will reprise her role as D'Anna Biers in a 10-episode arc in the show's eagerly anticipated third season, which begins production in Vancouver in April.

Originally appearing in the episode "Flight of the Phoenix," D'Anna Biers arrived on the Galactica as an investigative journalist doing an expose on alleged crew misconduct that resulted in the death of four civilians. Surprisingly, her documentary generated sympathy and respect for the battlestar's crew � healing the growing rift between the civilian and military populations within the fleet. Eventually, the audience learns that D'Anna was actually one of the deadly human-looking Cylon agents, who was sent to Galactica on a covert reconnaissance mission.

Lawless' second guest appearance will air on Friday, February 24, in the episode, "Downloaded," which gives viewers their first real glimpse into the Cylon world. The second half of season 2 of 'Battlestar Galactica' premiered January 6.

Best known to audiences as the fierce and beautiful 'Xena: Warrior Princess,' Lucy Lawless has also appeared in 'The X-Files,' 'Tarzan,' 'Bernie Mac,' 'Two and a Half Men,' 'Less Than Perfect' and 'Just Shoot Me.' She recently starred the television movies 'Locusts' and 'Vampire Bats.' Lawless also played a memorable role in the feature film 'Eurotrip' and appeared in a cameo in Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man.' She will next be seen in the psychological thriller 'The Darkroom.'

Lawless joins Battlestar Galactica's stellar ensemble cast, led by Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer and Grace Park. The series is executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick � who was instrumental in originally casting Lawless in the role of Xena.

Battlestar Galactica is from NBC Universal Television Studio.

SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 85 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.