CMT RELEASES FIRST TEASER FOR SEXY AND SOULFUL "SUN RECORDS"

New Series Starring Chad Michael Murray as Sun Records Founder Sam Phillips Debuts Thursday, February 23 at 10 PM ET/PT

Nashville, December 19, 2016 - CMT today unveiled its first teaser for the red-blooded, white-hot, born-from-the-blues series "Sun Records" premiering Thursday, February 23 at 10 PM ET/PT. The all-new scripted series based on the Tony Award(R)-winning musical "Million Dollar Quartet" will join "Nashville" to complete CMT's new Thursday line-up.

In the teaser, fans get their first preview of young Elvis Presley (Drake Milligan) and Johnny Cash (Kevin Fonteyne) with guitars, Jerry Lee Lewis (Christian Lees) jamming out on the piano, and Sun Records founder Sam Phillips (Chad Michael Murray) in the studio asking to hear something musically he hasn't heard before.

Set in Memphis during the tumultuous early days of the civil rights movement, "Sun Records" tells the untold story of nothing less than the birth of rock 'n' roll. Guided by Sam Phillips, young musicians like Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis combined the styles of hillbilly country with the 1950s R&B sound created by artists like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Fats Domino and Ike Turner, and changed the course of music forever. The series chronicles these young artists' often jarring and sudden meteoric rise to fame in the face of sweeping political change and social unrest.

The all-star cast includes Billy Gardell(Presley and Eddy Arnold's manager, Colonel Tom Parker), Jonah Lees (Jimmy Swaggart), Trevor Donovan (Eddy Arnold), Keir O'Donnell (Dewey Phillips), Jennifer Holland(Sam's wife Becky Phillips), Margaret Anne Florence (Sam's assistant Marion Keisker), and Kerry Holliday (Ike Turner).

"Sun Records" is produced by Thinkfactory Media with Leslie Greif ("Hatfields & McCoys," "Texas Rising") as executive producer, Gil Grant ("24" and "NCIS: Los Angeles") as executive producer and showrunner, Barry Berg as co-executive producer and Herb Nanas and Colin Escott as producers. Oscar nominee Roland Joffé directs, with Jayson Dinsmore and Julia Silverton as executive producers for CMT. The series is based on the musical written by Floyd Mutrux and Escott, with original concept and direction by Mutrux. Casting done by Fern Champion and Sharon Lieblein.

For more information on "Sun Records," visit CMT.com and the CMT app, like the show's official Facebook page and join the conversation using #SunRecords.

About Thinkfactory Media

Thinkfactory Media is a full-service production company that creates high-quality entertainment content. Renowned for award-winning productions, the company was the driving force behind the Emmy(R) and Golden Globe(R)-nominated hit mini-series Hatfields & McCoys (History), starring Kevin Costner. Recent credits include: the Writers Guild Award-nominated Lifetime biopic, Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le, Million Dollar Matchmaker (WEtv), Texas Rising (History), Marriage Boot Camp (We tv), Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars (We tv), Married By Mom and Dad (TLC), Dead of Winter: The Donner Party (The Weather Channel), Vet School (Nat Geo WILD), Preachers' Daughters (Lifetime), R&B Divas: Atlanta (TV One), R&B Divas: Los Angeles (TV One), Queens of Drama (Pop), Strange Love (TLC), Gene Simmons: Family Jewels (A&E), Tony Danza: Teach (A&E), among many others. Find out more about Thinkfactory Media and its projects at www.ThinkfactoryMedia.com and follow them on Twitter at @TFactoryMedia.

About CMT

CMT, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 million homes in the U.S. CMT, CMT.com and CMT Radio offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and are the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Music, CMT App, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.