ELLEN BURSTYN TO STAR IN USA NETWORK'S "POLITICAL ANIMALS," OPPOSITE SIGOURNEY WEAVER, CARLA GUGINO, CIARÁN HINDS, JAMES WOLK, SEBASTIAN STAN AND BRITTANY ISHIBASHI

SIX-HOUR EVENT DRAMA SERIES FROM GREG BERLANTI, LAURENCE MARK AND WARNER HORIZON TELEVISION TO LAUNCH SUMMER 2012

NEW YORK - April 11, 2012 - Oscar(R), Emmy(R), Tony(R), Golden Globe(R) and BAFTA Award winner Ellen Burstyn ("Big Love," "Requiem for a Dream") joins the star studded cast of USA Network's provocative original series POLITICAL ANIMALS, from Warner Horizon Television. Starring Sigourney Weaver ("Avatar"), Ciarán Hinds ("Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), Carla Gugino ("Entourage"), James Wolk ("Shameless"), Sebastian Stan ("Gossip Girl") and Brittany Ishibashi ("The Mentalist"), the six-hour event drama from acclaimed television and film producers Greg Berlanti ("Brothers & Sisters") and Laurence Mark ("Julie & Julia" ) is slated for the network's blockbuster summer lineup.

Burstyn will star as Margaret Barrish, mother to current Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond (Weaver). A tough Chicago broad and one-time Vegas showgirl, Margaret's biting tongue and sharp wit haven't softened despite her daughter's position and she's the first one to whip open a bottle of booze to help her through a political evening.

Pulling back the curtain on persuasive public speeches and stirring campaign ads, the fictional look at a former first family exposes a dynasty fighting political adversaries while struggling with their own powerful demons. Sigourney Weaver stars as former first lady and current Secretary of State Elaine Barrish Hammond who - in the wake of a divorce from her philandering ex-husband (Hinds) - attempts to keep her family together while simultaneously dealing with crises of the State Department and the hungry DC journalist (Gugino) who is bent on destroying her career.

POLITICAL ANIMALS is from Berlanti Productions and Laurence Mark Productions in association with Warner Horizon Television. Berlanti wrote and will direct the pilot and serves as executive producer of the series with Mark. Melissa Kellner Berman of Berlanti Productions will co-executive produce.

Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) is one of the entertainment industry's leading producers of scripted series for the cable marketplace and primetime reality series for both network and cable. Founded in 2006, this second production entity allows the Warner Bros. Television Group to expand its programming offerings and explore creative options made possible under a new business model. WHTV's current unscripted series are The Voice for NBC, The Bachelor franchise - which includes The Bachelor, The Bachelorette and Bachelor Pad - for ABC and Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew for MTV. Scripted programs from WHTV are Rizzoli & Isles and Dallas for TNT, Sullivan & Son for TBS, Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game for ABC Family, Longmire for A&E and Political Animals for USA Network.

The #1 network in all of basic cable, USA Network is seen in 115 million U.S. homes. USA is a leader in scripted programming with a powerful stable of originals including POLITICAL ANIMALS, SUITS, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, WHITE COLLAR, ROYAL PAINS, BURN NOTICE, PSYCH, COVERT AFFAIRS, COMMON LAW, FAIRLY LEGAL and IN PLAIN SIGHT. The network offers 52 weeks of spectacular live television with WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW and is home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, a broad portfolio of acquired series and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. The award-winning website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.