NBC GIVES EARLY GREENLIGHT TO NEW DRAMA SERIES "KIDNAPPED" FOR FALL 2006-07

BURBANK, Calif. -- March 16, 2006 -- NBC has given an early Fall 2006-07 series order for 13 episodes of the new drama "Kidnapped," it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment.

"This is one of those shows that sizzled from pitch to script to finished pilot," said Reilly. "Michael Dinner directed a pilot that you can't take your eyes off of. It will certainly be one of the most compelling new Fall series, so we wanted to express our confidence in it now and give the producers the extra lead time to develop the series."

"Kidnapped" is a high-stakes serialized thriller in which the teenage son of a wealthy Upper East Side family (Timothy Hutton, "Kinsey," and Emmy winner Dana Delany, "China Beach") is kidnapped and everyone is a suspect. The series focuses on the elaborate, triangulated game between the kidnappers, law enforcement, FBI, and the private negotiating team of the "perhaps" not-so-picture-perfect family.

In "Kidnapped," on a rainy New York morning, the picture perfect existence of Conrad Cain (Hutton), a self-made millionaire with a long list of enemies, and his well-to-do wife Ellie (Delany) is torn apart when their 15-year-old son Leopold (Will Denton "Palindromes"), a quirky kid whose innocence makes him the perfect target, is kidnapped on his way to school. The boy's bodyguard Virgil (Mykelti Williamson, "Boomtown"), the boy's first line of defense even after the kidnapping, is left to die.

Desperate to find his son while keeping his skeletons hidden, Cain enlists the services of Knapp (Jeremy Sisto, "Six Feet Under" and "Thirteen"), a "professional" investigator who works outside the law's strict rulebook to retrieve kidnapping victims and guide families through the grueling process, and his able partner and right hand Turner (Carmen Ejogo, "Lackawanna Blues"). Operating opposite Knapp and his team is Special Agent Latimer King (Delroy Lindo, "The Core"), and his colleague and antithesis Agent Andy Archer (Linus Roache, "Batman Begins"), who only knows how to play by the rules.

"Kidnapped" is produced by Sony Pictures Television and 25C Productions. Jason Smilovic ("Karen Sisco"), Michael Dinner ("Invasion"), Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly are the executive producers.