Spike TV's Production of Frank Spotnitz and Vince Gilligan Pilot 'A.M.P.E.D.' Set to Begin October 2 in Vancouver

Lee Tergesen ('Oz') and Tony Curran ('Miami Vice') Cast In Leading Roles

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 2 -- Spike TV has announced that production is set to begin October 2 in Vancouver on the Frank Spotnitz and Vince Gilligan created pilot "A.M.P.E.D." from Fox 21. Joining executive producers Spotnitz and Gilligan on the project are showrunners/executive producers Steven Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle. Rob Lieberman will direct the pilot, as well as serve as an executive producer.

Set in present day Minneapolis, "A.M.P.E.D." centers on a group of police detectives and officers as they deal with a small but growing percentage of the population that is falling prey to strange genetic mutations, causing them to do destructive things to the city and those around them.

Lee Tergesen has been cast in the lead role of Detective Brian Spicer, a sensitive and quick-thinking homicide officer who is legendary in the Department for being fearless and level-headed. Tony Curran portrays Detective Mark Jacocks, a tough cop who imparts his own special brand of survival philosophy onto rookies and whose method clashes with Spicer.

Lee Tergesen is best known for his portrayal of Tobias Beecher on HBO's "Oz" and has appeared on numerous TV series including "Desperate Housewives," "Law and Order," "CSI" and "Homicide: Life on the Street." Tergesen is also starring in the upcoming theatrical release "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning." Scottish born actor Tony Curran has appeared in more than a dozen feature films including "Miami Vice," "Gladiator," "Flight of the Phoenix," and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."

Cynthia Addai-Robinson ("Entourage"), Josh Biton ("Commander in Chief"), Sarah Brown ("Cold Case") and Troy Winbush ("Medical Investigation") round out the cast of "A.M.P.E.D."

"A.M.P.E.D." co-creators Frank Spotnitz and Vince Gilligan were longtime showrunner/executive producers on "The X-Files" and Steven Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle co-created and produced "The Pretender."

In Canada, Brightlight Pictures will produce. For Spike TV, Bill McGoldrick of Spike TV is executive in charge of production.

Fox 21, the boutique from Twentieth Century Fox Television, aims to deliver innovative programming to all the networks while controlling the escalating costs of TV production. Led by Jane Francis, Fox 21 has already produced three series spanning comedy, drama and reality in "Free Ride," "Saved" and "Beauty and the Geek," and has multiple projects in various stages of development for both network and cable television.

Spike TV is available in 90 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. MTV Networks is a division of Viacom International Inc.

SOURCE Spike TV
http://www.spiketv.com