UNIVERSAL MEDIA STUDIOS INKS OVERALL DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH PETER BERG'S AND SARAH AUBREY'S ('FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS') FILM 44 THAT WILL INCLUDE THE 'PRIME SUSPECT' PILOT

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - July 30, 2010 - Universal Media Studios has signed an overall development deal with Peter Berg and his partner Sarah Aubrey's production company Film 44 (NBC's "Friday Night Lights," "Hancock"). As part of the new agreement, Film 44 will produce the drama pilot "Prime Suspect."

The announcement was made by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

"We are proud to continue our productive creative relationship with Peter and Sarah in developing 'Prime Suspect,' among others," said Bromstad. "They have immense talent and passion. This is a win-win venture that is bound to create some extraordinary television."

"Friday Night Lights" also has been honored three times (2006/2007/2009) as an American Film Institute (AFI) Television Program of the Year, received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award in 2006 and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series in 2007. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were both recently nominated for Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress, respectively, in a Drama Series.

Alex Cunningham ("Desperate Housewives") is the executive producer and writer of "Prime Suspect." Berg and Aubrey ("Friday Night Lights") also are executive producers.

Film 44 is a Universal Pictures-based film and television production company, founded by partners Berg and Aubrey. Feature credits include the critically acclaimed adaptation "Friday Night Lights," "The Kingdom," "Lars and the Real Girl," "Hancock," "The Losers" and the forthcoming "Battleship," for release in May 2012. In 2006, Berg and Aubrey partnered with Imagine Entertainment to adapt "Friday Night Lights" into a weekly television show. The show, now entering its fifth season, has been honored with a Peabody Award, a Writers Guild of America Award, and has received accolades from the American Film Institute.