GOLDEN GLOBE(R) WINNER DON CHEADLE AND GRAMMY(R) WINNER ANDREW RANNELLS TO STAR IN NEW SHOWTIME(R) COMEDY PILOT "BALL STREET"

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg To Direct And Executive Produce

Created By David Caspe And Jordan Cahan, Who Will Executive Produce And Serve As Showrunners

LOS ANGELES - September 7, 2017 - Today, SHOWTIME announced the pilot order for the new half-hour comedy series BALL STREET, starring Emmy(R) nominated and Golden Globe winning actor Don Cheadle (HOUSE OF LIES) and two-time Tony(R) Award nominee and Grammy winner Andrew Rannells (Girls, The Intern). Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will direct and executive produce the pilot. BALL STREET was created by David Caspe (Happy Endings) and Jordan Cahan (My Best Friend's Girl), who will serve as executive producers and showrunners. Production on the pilot is scheduled to begin in February. The project is a co-production between SHOWTIME and Sony Pictures Television Studios. The announcement was made today by David Nevins, President and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.

BALL STREET takes us back to October 19, 1987 - aka Black Monday - the worst stock market crash in the history of Wall Street. To this day, no one knows who caused it. Until now... BALL STREET is the story of how a group of outsiders took on the blue-blood, old-boys club of Wall Street and ended up crashing the world's largest financial system, a Lamborghini limousine, Don Henley's birthday party, and the glass ceiling.

"When the global economy incinerates itself, people always wonder why. BALL STREET is a dream project rising from the ashes of that disaster," Nevins said. "In Don Cheadle and Andrew Rannells, we have two of the most dynamic performers in the world today - the question is which one of them lit the match. With Seth, Evan, David and Jordan at the helm, we are primed for the launch of something memorable."

Cheadle returns to SHOWTIME in the role of Rod "The Jammer" Jaminski, a self-educated, self-made, self-destructive master of the universe whose firm the financial press called, "The L.A. Raiders of corporate raiders." Rannells plays Blair Shmerman, a fresh-out-of-Wharton trading prodigy whose pure heart will struggle to survive Wall Street (from both a metaphoric and cocaine standpoint). Jammer's top lieutenant, Dawn Darcy, has yet to be cast. Darcy is the first female head trader on the street, who'll ride the second wave of feminism through a sea of horny millionaires.

Cheadle won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for four consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor for his performance on the SHOWTIME series HOUSE OF LIES, giving him eight Emmy nominations in his career. He has been nominated for five Golden Globes, also winning for his supporting role in The Rat Pack. He received an Academy Award(R) nomination for Best Actor in Hotel Rwanda. He has also received four individual Screen Actors Guild(R) Award nominations and twice won in the ensembles of Crash and Traffic. Most recently Cheadle starred as Miles Davis in Miles Ahead which he directed, co-wrote and produced and for which he won a Grammy(R) Award. Among his many memorable performances are Avengers, Talk to Me, Ocean's Eleven, Out of Sight and Boogie Nights.

An accomplished actor of the stage and screen, Rannells appeared in a series regular role on Girls. His additional television credits include The New Normal, The Knick, Another Period and How I Met Your Mother. His film credits include The Intern opposite Robert de Niro and Anne Hathaway, and the upcoming Paul Feig feature A Simple Favor. Rannells has starred in a number of major Broadway productions including The Book of Mormon and Falsettos (both of which earned him Tony Award nominations), Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Jersey Boys, Hairspray and the smash hit Hamilton. He also won a Grammy Award for the original Book of Mormon cast recording.

Rogen and Goldberg co-created and executive produce the television drama Preacher, directing the pilot and several episodes, and have written and produced such films as Superbad and Pineapple Express. They were nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for their work on Da Ali G Show and Film Independent Spirit Awards for 50/50.

Caspe created and executive produced Happy Endings, as well as Marry Me, on which Cahan was supervising producer. Cahan also wrote My Best Friend's Girl, starring Kate Hudson.

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