THRILLER NOVELIST MARCUS SAKEY UNVEILS UNTOLD STORIES BENEATH EACH CITY'S UNDERBELLY IN NEW TRAVEL CHANNEL SERIES "HIDDEN CITY" PREMIERING MONDAY, DECEMBER 5 AT 10:00 P.M. ET/PT

CHEVY CHASE, MD (September 13, 2011) - Thriller novelist Marcus Sakey knows good stories and how to uncover them. To research his bestselling books, he's shadowed homicide detectives, gone shooting with Special Forces and even learned how to pick a deadbolt. Now in the new original one-hour series, "Hidden City," premiering on Monday, December 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, Sakey travels the country, city to city, to dig up the less-than-pristine history and reveal the untold story behind each locale, serving as a personal guide to each city's unique past.

The premiere episode explores Sakey's hometown of Chicago, the city famous for reinventing itself through its checkered history. Viewers will meet America's first - and maybe worst - serial killer, H.H. Holmes; walk in the footsteps of legendary gangster, John Dillinger; and dig into the 1968 DNC riots, when protestors clashed with police in a battle royale broadcast live to the world.

Throughout the 12-episode series, Sakey does whatever it takes to get into the heads of the characters that define the city. In Chicago, police were trained in riot control techniques, so he straps on some pads and picks up a baton; and the protestors were hit with Mace - so Sakey takes a blast right in the eyes. Through it all, he interprets the events as a novelist, looking for the plot, characters and themes that put it all together.

Rappelling with SWAT, attending an autopsy, interviewing a porn star, stealing a car - it's all in a week's work. For Sakey, the "who" and "what" tell you everything about "where." From his POV, the gallows humor of a South Central gang cop provides better insight into Los Angeles than a studio tour or a trip to the beach. A typical day can begin with a meeting with the Boston FBI in the morning and end sharing a drink with a Southie bank robber at night.

Additional episodes examine the most notorious historical events of Anchorage, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, the Florida Keys, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. As Sakey travels, he's packing his preconceived notions, his attitude and his willingness to be unimpressed. He'll walk the streets, meets the people and take a few bruises to reveal the "Hidden City."

"Hidden City" is produced by Crazy Legs Productions for Travel Channel. For Crazy Legs, the executive producers are Tom Cappello and Michael Lucker. The executive producer for Travel Channel is David E. Gerber.

TRAVEL CHANNEL (http://www.travelchannel.com) is a multiplatform travel lifestyle brand with the core mission of providing inspiring and compelling programming that takes viewers beyond their every day destinations, making the unfamiliar familiar, whether it's around the world or around the block. A dual feed network that is also available in HD, Travel Channel is the world's leading travel media brand, and is available in 96 million U.S. cable homes. Owned and operated by Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), Travel Channel has offices in Chevy Chase, MD, and New York, NY. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI) also owns and operates HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, Cooking Channel and Great American Country.