NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, MARTHA RADDATZ, AND LINCOLN SQUARE PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE GREENLIGHT OF COMPANION DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL TO UPCOMING DRAMA "THE LONG ROAD HOME"

The Long Road Home, 8-Episode Scripted Event Series, Stars Michael Kelly, Jason Ritter, E.J. Bonilla, Kate Bosworth, Sarah Wayne Callies, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Sisto Premieres November 2017 on National Geographic

(WASHINGTON, DC/LOS ANGELES, CA - July 25, 2017) National Geographic, Martha Raddatz, and Lincoln Square Productions announced today the greenlight for a companion documentary special to the network's upcoming drama, The Long Road Home, based on the New York Times best-seller from Raddatz. The Long Road Home scripted series and its companion documentary special will air globally in November 2017 on National Geographic in 440 million homes in 171 countries and in 45 languages.

The Long Road Home companion documentary to the scripted series will tell the story of how the First Cavalry Division came under surprise attack in Sadr City on April 4, 2004 - now known as "Black Sunday." On the homefront, over 7,000 miles away, their families awaited the news for 48 hellish hours - expecting the worst.

The documentary will be a comprehensive follow-up to a story that ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz and ABC News have extensively covered for over a decade. Raddatz will share the raw and intimate interviews with the soldiers and their families revealing the remarkable tales of heroism, hope and heartbreak through their eyes. Raddatz has been devoted to sharing their courageous stories and continues her commitment to telling the events that unfolded on that day. By using archival footage of the ground war, the fall of Baghdad, and of the battle for Sadr City, the documentary will put the war and battle into context and follow the timeline of the battle up until their rescue.

"With Martha and Lincoln Square Productions, we want to provide the background that chronicles the remarkable story of bravery and survival of these soldiers," said Tim Pastore, president, original programming and production, National Geographic. "By offering the documentary simultaneously with the scripted drama, we're hoping to provide additional insights and authenticity to the story, giving audiences another perspective of the unforgettable events of 'Black Sunday'."

"I'm thrilled to partner with National Geographic on this documentary special that will follow up with the soldiers and their families and be able to continue to share their story of courage and spirit," said Raddatz. "With both the scripted series and, now this documentary special, I hope to continue giving a personal and honest look at the events of that fateful day."

Premiering November 2017, The Long Road Home scripted series offers viewers an intimate window into the experience of war as seen through the eyes and the hearts of the soldiers themselves and the families they leave behind. It is an adrenaline-fueled and heart-filled journey that follows the action of the battle on two simultaneous fronts - the chaotic, terror-filled streets of Sadr City, where a group of inexperienced young soldiers face an unexpected and unimaginable attack with bravery they never knew they had, and the home front at Fort Hood, where family members, desperate for news of their loved ones and fearing the worst, only to discover their own bravery in the process.

The scripted series stars Michael Kelly ("House of Cards," "Taboo") as then Lt. Col. Gary Volesky (now Gen. Volesky), the platoon's commanding officer who was in his first hours of command there as the battle broke out; Jason Ritter ("Parenthood," "Girls") as Capt.Troy Denomy, who bravely leads a rescue convoy after giving the order that put his men in harm's way; E.J. Bonilla ("Unforgettable") as stranded platoon leader Shane Aguero; Kate Bosworth ("Blue Crush," "SS-GB," "The Art of More") as Gina Denomy, a young wife and new mom battling her own fears while reaching out to the families of the fallen and wounded; Sarah Wayne Callies ("Prison Break," "The Walking Dead," "Colony") as Family Readiness Group leader and Gary Volesky's wife Lee Ann Volesky; Noel Fisher ("Shameless") as a heroic 24-year-old warrior and later peace activist Pfc. Tomas Young; and Jeremy Sisto ("Suburgatory," "Law & Order," "Six Feet Under") as reluctant hero Staff Sgt. Robert Miltenberger.

The Long Road Home documentary will be produced by Lincoln Square Productions for National Geographic. For Lincoln Square Productions, Jeanmarie Condon and Martha Raddatz are executive producers and Ely Brown is producer. For National Geographic, Betsy Forhan is executive producer; Kevin Tao Mohs is vice president, production; and Tim Pastore is president, original programming and production.

About Martha Raddatz

Martha Raddatz is ABC News chief global affairs correspondent and co-anchor of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." She has covered national security, foreign policy and politics for decades - reporting from the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House and conflict zones around the world.

She began covering war during the crisis in Bosnia in the late 1990s, but it is Iraq and Afghanistan where she has spent most of her time overseas. Even during her stint as White House correspondent during President George W. Bush's administration, she continued to make regular trips into war-torn Iraq.

Raddatz embedded with U.S. forces during dozens of trips abroad, from the sands of Al Anbar province to the mountains of the Hindu Kush. She is the only television reporter allowed to fly in an F-15 fighter jet on combat missions over Afghanistan, spending nearly 10 hours in the air on two separate missions. In 2011 she reported exclusive details on the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden. That same year she was one of the few reporters on the last major convoy out of Iraq. She also had an exclusive interview on the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Libya with the Marines who helped rescue two American pilots who had gone down in Libya. In 2012, Raddatz was on a U.S. destroyer as it made its way through the Strait of Hormuz. Raddatz reported exclusively from the USS George H.W. Bush, covering the airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2014, and again in March 2016 from the USS Truman. In 2015, she was granted exclusive access to the anti-ISIS command center at an undisclosed location in the Middle East and anchored "This Week" from an air base from which drone warfare is conducted.

In addition, her reporting trips have taken her to Yemen, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, India, Turkey, Libya, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and numerous countries in Africa and Asia.

Raddatz is the author of "The Long Road Home - a Story of War and Family," a highly acclaimed book about a battle in Iraq that made both The New York Times and The Washington Post bestseller lists. The Washington Post described the book as "a masterpiece of literary non-fiction that rivals any war-related classic that has preceded it."

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