HISTORY(R) ANNOUNCES BILL PAXTON TO JOIN KEVIN COSTNER IN THE HATFIELDS and McCOYS

AN AMERICAN VENDETTA

KEVIN REYNOLDS TO DIRECT

New York, August 16, 2011 - HISTORY announced today additional casting for its new scripted miniseries, THE HATFIELDS and McCOYS. The Golden Globe nominated actor, Bill Paxton (Big Love, Tombstone, True Lies, Apollo 13, Twister, and Titanic), will play the role of Randall McCoy. He joins previously announced Academy Award(R) winner Kevin Costner (The Untouchables, Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, The Bodyguard and Open Range) who will play the role of "Devil" Anse Hatfield. The announcement was made by Nancy Dubuc, President & General Manager, HISTORY.

Kevin Reynolds (Red Dawn, The Count of Monte Cristo, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) has signed on to direct the project. The miniseries, to be produced by Leslie Greif's production company, Thinkfactory Media, and Kevin Costner as producing partner, will chronicle the bloody hostilities between two clans that escalated to the point of near war between two states. Sony Pictures Television distributes THE HATFIELDS and McCOYS.

The Hatfield-McCoy saga begins with "Devil" Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy. Close friends and comrades during the Civil War, they returned to their neighboring homes - Hatfield in West Virginia, McCoy just across the Tug River border in Kentucky - to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments that soon exploded into all-out warfare between the two families. As hostilities grew, friends, neighbors and outside forces joined the fight, bringing the two states to the brink of another Civil War.

Their story also includes: a tempestuous love affair between Hatfield's son and McCoy's daughter, which had disastrous consequences; the execution of McCoy's three young sons in retaliation for the Rasputin-like murder of Hatfield's beloved brother; a New Year's Massacre of the McCoy clan and burning of their home, which also sparked international headlines; a public clash between state governors; and ultimately the involvement of the United States Supreme Court.

THE HATFIELDS and McCOYS is being produced for HISTORY by Thinkfactory Media. Leslie Greif will serve as an Executive Producer on the project with Herb Nanas and Darrell Fetty producing for Thinkfactory Media. Writer is Ted Mann (Deadwood, Emmy(R) winner NYPD Blue, Luck). Revisions by Ron Parker (Emmy winner for Broken Trail, Emmy nominated Joan of Arc). Executive Producers for HISTORY are Nancy Dubuc and Dirk Hoogstra.

Bill Paxton is represented by WME. Kevin Costner is represented by JJ Harris at One Management and WME.

About HISTORY(R)

HISTORY(R) and HISTORY HD(R) are the leading destinations for revealing, award-winning original non-fiction series and event specials that connect history with viewers in an informative, immersive and entertaining manner across multiple platforms. Programming covers a diverse variety of historical genres ranging from military history to contemporary history, technology to natural history, as well as science, archaeology and pop culture. Among the network's program offerings are hit series such as American Pickers, Ax Men, American Restoration, Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear, Pawn Stars and Top Shot, as well as acclaimed specials including Gettysburg, America the Story of Us, WWII in HD, 102 Minutes That Changed America and Life After People. HISTORY has earned four Peabody Awards, seven Primetime Emmy(R) Awards, 12 News & Documentary Emmy(R) Awards and received the prestigious Governor's Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the network's Save Our History(R) campaign dedicated to historic preservation and history education. Take a Veteran to School Day is the network's signature initiative connecting America's schools and communities with veterans from all wars. The HISTORY website, located at www.history.com, is the leading online resource for all things history, featuring over 20,000 videos, images, audio clips, articles and interactive features that allow visitors to dig deeper into a broad range of thousands of historical topics.