TOM HARDY PUSHES THE LIMITS OF LOYALTY AND BETRAYAL IN THE ENCORE ORIGINALS DEBUT OF "THE TAKE," FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 AT 9PM ET/PT

Based on Martina Cole's Bestselling Crime Thriller, the Four-Part Original Event Also Stars Brian Cox, Kierston Wareing, Charlotte Riley, and Shaun Evans

Beverly Hills, CA, October 17, 2011 - ENCORE Originals is set to debut "The Take," a miniseries starring Tom Hardy (Warrior) based on Martina Cole's best-selling crime thriller. The exciting, uncompromising four-part miniseries will premiere part one on Friday, December 2nd at 9pm et/pt, and will air the subsequent parts Friday nights at 9pm et/pt through December 23rd.

Centered around the trials, tribulations and speculations of an English family, "The Take" stars Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Warrior, Inception, RocknRolla, Black Hawk Down) as Freddie Jackson, with Shaun Evans (Boy A) portraying Freddie's cousin Jimmy. Emmy Award(R) winning actor Brian Cox (The Escapist, Troy, The Bourne Supremacy, Braveheart) also stars as Ozzy, the legendary criminal godfather who manipulates the fates of Freddie and his cousin Jimmy. Freddie's wife Jackie is played by Kierston Wareing (Leaving, It's a Free World) and Charlotte Riley (Easy Virtue) plays her younger sister Maggie.

"'The Take' exemplifies our vision for ENCORE Originals to offer viewers exciting programming with broad appeal," said Stephan Shelanski, EVP of programming for Starz Entertainment. "This unflinching look into the London underworld serves up crime and betrayal in a stylized and compelling manner. As the struggle for power and wealth escalates you will become absorbed in seeing how this dark, gritty tale unfolds."

Set in the streets of London's East End, Martina Cole's "The Take" is a gripping family drama that unfolds in the city's criminal underworld over 10 tumultuous years, from the height of Thatcherism to the birth of New Labor. Freddie Jackson is just out of prison. He's done his time, made the right connections and now he's ready to use them. His wife Jackie dreams of having her husband home, but she's forgotten the fights and the women Freddie can't separate himself from. His younger cousin, Jimmy, dreams of making a name for himself on Freddie's coattails. At first Freddie gets everything he ever wanted and Jimmy is taken along for the ride. Behind it all sits Ozzy, the legendary criminal godfather who manipulates Freddie and Jimmy's fates from behind the bars of his prison cell. Bitter, resentful and increasingly unstable, Jackie sees her life crumble while her little sister Maggie's star rises. Dedicated to her husband Jimmy, Maggie is determined not to end up like her sister. Freddie and Jackie watch Jimmy and Maggie achieve all the dreams that they themselves failed to realize: love, family, stability and respect. Jealous resentment and an inability to control himself force Freddie to put both the business and family at risk. Torn between being loyal to a cousin he loves and being true to his own destiny, Jimmy is forced to decide between protecting Freddie or the life he has built with Maggie. Martina Cole's "The Take" is a potent human drama about love, power, violence and betrayal.

"The Take" is distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, directed by David Drury, written by Neil Biswas, and produced by Willow Grylls. The mini-series is executive produced by Lavinia Warner, Charles Pattinson, George Faber, Helen Flint, Suzan Harrison, Andrew Lowe, Elaine Pyke, and Martina Cole.

About Starz Entertainment

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 17 premium channels including the flagship STARZ(R) and ENCORE(R) brands with approximately 19 million and 32.9 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels. Starz Entertainment is recognized as a pay TV leader in providing HD, On Demand, HD On Demand and online advanced services for its STARZ, ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX brands. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation and is attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group.