NBC SIGNS DEAL WITH GROUNDBREAKING WRITER-DIRECTOR-PRODUCER SPIKE LEE TO DEVELOP NEW DRAMA SERIES

NBC SIGNS DEAL WITH GROUNDBREAKING WRITER-DIRECTOR-PRODUCER SPIKE LEE TO DEVELOP NEW DRAMA SERIES

Series to be Produced by NBC Universal Television Studio

BURBANK � July 18, 2006 � In a major creative coup, NBC has signed groundbreaking writer-director-producer Spike Lee ("Malcolm X," "Do the Right Thing") to develop a new drama series to be produced by NBC Universal Television Studio.

"Spike Lee was one of the first people that I wanted to make a priority for the network," said Katie O'Connell, Senior Vice President, Drama Development, NBC Entertainment. "I wanted to be aggressive about bringing in a high-profile filmmaker who fits in so well with NBC's traditional brand of challenging quality dramas."

"To say we feel incredibly lucky to be working with Spike Lee is an understatement," said Laura Lancaster, Senior Vice President, Drama and Cable Programming, NBC Universal Television Studio. "He is such an accomplished, inventive and truly great American filmmaker with such a specific and passionate point of view. And what's really exciting is to see his enthusiasm for television. He's already come in with so many powerful ideas."

Details of the untitled drama's concept will be announced later.

Lee's prolific filmmaking career began in the early 1980s but his first critical breakthrough came when he directed the comedy "She's Gotta Have It" in 1986. Shortly after, he followed up with a more intense drama in "Do the Right Thing," which explored inner-city racial themes. In 1990, Lee directed, produced and wrote the jazz-themed biography "Mo' Better Blues" as well as "Jungle Fever" a year later.

In 1992, Lee's direction of his screenplay of "Malcolm X" helped secure an Oscar nomination for its title star, Denzel Washington. Later in the 1990s, the director continued with such films as "Crooklyn," "Clockers," "Summer of Sam," "4 Little Girls," "Get on the Bus" and "He Got Game."

More recently, Lee directed "Inside Man," wrote and directed "Bamboozled," "She Hate Me" and "The Jesus Children of America." On television, he also directed two episodes of the miniseries "Miracle's Boys," "Jim Brown: All-American," the movie "Freak" and "A Huey P. Newton Story."

Lee has also acted in many of his films, including "She's Gotta Have It," "School Daze" and "Malcolm X."