EL REY NETWORK'S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED SCRIPTED ORIGINAL, "MATADOR," CASTS CHRISTOPHER COUSINS, MARGOT BINGHAM AND EVE TORRES IN RECURRING ROLES

New Action-Packed Spy Thriller, From Writer/Producer of 'Mission Impossible 3,' 'Star Trek' and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," Premieres Tuesday, July 15 at 9:00 PM ET/PT

Austin, TX, June 18, 2014 -- El Rey Network announced today that Christopher Cousins (Breaking Bad, Revolution), Eve Torres (WWE, The Scorpion King) and Margot Bingham (Boardwalk Empire) have been cast in recurring roles in the spy thriller, "Matador," premiering Tuesday, July 15th at 9:00 PM ET/PT. Cousins will portray Deputy Director Llewyn Wayne Smith, a seasoned higher up within the CIA who is in charge of the department responsible for recruiting Tony Bravo (Gabriel Luna). While he may seem to be ever the professional, Deputy Director Smith keeps most of his cards close to his vest. Cousins recently portrayed Skyler White's boss Ted Beneke in the critically-acclaimed series Breaking Bad. His other recent credits include the feature film Draft Day alongside Kevin Costner, and recurring roles in Revolution, Lipstick Jungle, Vanished and more.

Margot Bingham stars as Abigail "Billie" Fisher, a logistics analyst who works for the CIA. Margot received critical acclaim for her performance this past season as "Daughter Maitland" in HBO's Boardwalk Empire, opposite Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon, Shea Whigham, Jeffrey Wright, and Michael K. Williams. She's also known in the music circuit as singer Margot B., accompanying Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks which provides music for the Boardwalk series.

Eve Torres will portray Reyna Flores, a sideline journalist who reports on Tony's rise to sudden fame. She is sharp, ambitious and fit, a former college player herself who is as passionate about the game as she is about her career trajectory. Eve Torres is an actress, model, and former WWE Divas Champion. She recently appeared on Dick Wolf's NBC celebrity reality competition series Stars Earn Stripes, winning the competition and earning over $100,000 for her charity. Eve can next be seen in Universal's next installment of The Scorpion King for director Mike Elliot.

The 13-episode series, from award-winning writer/producer Roberto Orci, is the second scripted original to air on filmmaker Robert Rodriguez's English-language entertainment network. Rodriguez will direct the series premiere.

The irreverent, adrenaline-filled series chronicles the unlikely rise of Tony "Matador" Bravo (Gabriel Luna), a professional soccer player for the LA Riot who comes to be known as much for his antics off the field as his moves on it. But what his fans and family don't realize is that it's all a cover - in truth, he is a skilled covert operative executing missions for the CIA. Agent Bravo, nicknamed "Matador" after he takes out a top player known as "The Bull" during tryouts for the team, finds himself suddenly thrust into a clandestine world. But, in balancing his dueling roles, he will be forced to confront the question of his true identity... and it is this mission which may prove to be his most dangerous.

The international cast of "Matador" includes Gabriel Luna (NCIS: Los Angeles, Prison Break) in the title role of Tony "Matador" Bravo; Alfred Molina (The Da Vinci Code, Spider Man 2) as Andrés Galan, the billionaire owner of the ascendant LA Riot franchise and a member of an elite group of powerful global players, ruthless individuals who can impact world events on a scale that one would never imagine; Nicky Whelan (Left Behind, Chosen, The Wedding Ringer) as Annie Mason, Tony's analytical and beautiful control agent who serves as the head of a little known branch of the CIA; Neil Hopkins (Bones, True Blood) as Noah Peacott, Annie's brilliant but awkward partner; and Tanc Sade (The Gilmore Girls, 90210) as Alec Holester, an English striker for the LA Riot who is past his prime, but still very skilled.

"Matador" is created by Roberto Orci, Dan Dworkin, Jay Beattie and Andrew Orci. Executive producers are Dworkin & Beattie, also showrunners, alongside executive producers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman and consulting producer Andrew Orci. Also joining as executive producers are Heather Kadin of K/O Paper Products; El Rey Network co-founder Robert Rodriguez; and FactoryMade Ventures and El Rey Network co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa.

Through their exclusive output deal, Entertainment One Television (eOne) exclusively represents worldwide distribution rights (with the exception of U.S. broadcast network rights) for El Rey Network's "Matador" and other original scripted series created for the U.S based cable network, to be announced.

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About El Rey Network:

El Rey Network is a new 24-hour English language network founded by maverick filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. Curated by Rodriguez and his artistic collective, the network unites the most culturally diverse generation in history through fearless, badass and original content that awakens the renegade in everyone. The network's action-packed content is anchored by original signature dramas, feature films, grindhouse genre, cult classic action, and horror/sci-fi. El Rey Network LLC (www.elreynetwork.com) is jointly owned by Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures with a minority stake held by Univision Networks & Studios, Inc.