OVATION TO AIR U.S. PREMIERE OF EPIC "BEN HUR" MINISERIES SUNDAY, MARCH 31 AT 8 PM ET

Easter Weekend Programming Event stars Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries), Emily VanCamp (Revenge), Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and the Beast) and Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey)

SANTA MONICA, CA February 19, 2013 --- Ovation, the only network devoted to artists and every kind of artistic expression, will air the U.S. premiere of the miniseries BEN HUR on Sunday, March 31 at 8:00 pm ET. This epic four-hour miniseries will air during an Easter weekend programming event. Based on the novel "Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ" by Lew Wallace, the miniseries, which was filmed in Morocco, stars Joseph Morgan (The Vampire Diaries) as Judah Ben Hur and Emily VanCamp (Revenge) as Esther.

The multi-talented cast also includes Stephen Campbell Moore (Titanic mini-series), Kristin Kreuk (Beauty and the Beast), Simon Andreu (The Cold Light of Day), Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey), James Faulkner (Bridget Jones' Diary), Alex Kingston (Private Practice), Ray Winstone (Great Expectations) and Ben Cross (William & Kate).

Written by Alan Sharp and directed by Steve Shill, the miniseries follows Judah Ben Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince who is betrayed by his childhood friend, Messala. Eventually enslaved, Ben Hur becomes a hero when he saves the life of a Roman leader and soon receives new wealth and power. His quest, though, is to deliver vengeance upon Messala for the destruction of the Ben Hur family. During his journey for redemption, Ben Hur challenges his foe, Messala, to a chariot race to the death.

About Ovation

Ovation is a network devoted to artists and every kind of artistic expression. Ovation programming is a one-of-a-kind mix of original and selectively curated series, films, documentaries and specials. The network reaches a national audience of 48 million homes and is available on cable systems across the country, as well as nationally on DIRECTV, Dish, Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-Verse. Ovation is also available in HD and VOD (both in standard and high definition). Ovation extends its linear channel experience for viewers online via its popular website, www.ovationtv.com . In addition, Ovation is also active in the social media space. See the Ovation Facebook page for the latest information and conversations about the network and the arts: www.facebook.com/OvationTV.