|
THE LOUDEST VOICE
Premieres Sunday, June 30 at 10/9c.
THE LOUDEST VOICE – PRESS KIT
“Tell the people what to think and you’ve already lost them. Show them how to feel and they're yours forever.” – Roger Ailes
THE LOUDEST VOICE is based on extensive reporting by Gabriel Sherman in his bestselling book The Loudest Voice in the Room, which included interviews with more than 600 people and Sherman’s reporting for New York Magazine. In addition to Russell Crowe, the star-studded cast includes Academy Award® nominee Naomi Watts as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, Golden Globe® nominee Sienna Miller (Layer Cake) as Ailes’ wife Elizabeth, Oscar® nominee and Emmy® winner Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) as former Fox News PR chief Brian Lewis, Screen Actors Guild Award® nominee Simon McBurney (The Theory of Everything) as News Corp leader Rupert Murdoch, Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders) as former Fox News booker Laurie Luhn and Aleksa Palladino (Boardwalk Empire) as Ailes’ longtime assistant Judy Laterza. Guest stars include Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Josh Charles (The Good Wife) as Casey Close, Gretchen Carlson’s husband and Josh Stamberg (The Affair) as former Fox executive Bill Shine. Emmy nominee Kari Skogland (The Handmaid’s Tale) directed multiple episodes.
Even after his passing, no figure looms larger in today’s politically charged media landscape than Roger Ailes, who molded Fox News into a force that irrevocably changed the conversation about the highest levels of government. To understand the events that led to the rise of the modern Republican Party, one must understand Ailes. The upcoming limited series THE LOUDEST VOICE takes on that challenge. Primarily focusing on the past decade when Ailes arguably became the Republican Party’s de facto leader, it also touches on defining events in Ailes’ life, including experiences with world leaders that gave birth to Ailes’ political career and the sexual harassment accusations and settlements that brought his Fox News reign to an end. The series aims to shed light on the psychology that drives the political process from the top down.
The first episode of the limited series was written by Oscar winner Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) and Sherman. The project is a co-production from SHOWTIME® and Blumhouse Television (Sharp Objects, The Jinx, Get Out). In addition to Crowe, McCarthy serves as executive producer with Alex Metcalf and Emmy winner Jason Blum, as well as Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold for Blumhouse Television, Liza Chasin of 3dot Productions, Kari Skogland and Padraic “Pat” McKinley.
THE RISE OF ROGER AILES
1940 – Roger Ailes is born in Warren, Ohio.
1961 – Ailes begins his career as a producer on The Mike Douglas Show.
1968 – Ailes meets Richard Nixon when the former presidential candidate is a guest on the show. Impressed by the young producer’s ideas, Nixon hires him as a political consultant. Ailes works to shape Nixon’s campaign and help make the candidate more appealing to voters. That fall, Richard Nixon is elected the 37th President of the United States.
1974 – Roger Ailes joins Television News Incorporated, a right-wing TV network that’s viewed by many as a forerunner of Fox News.
1975 – When Television News Incorporated folds, Ailes goes back to political consulting.
1984 – President Ronald Reagan hires Ailes to work on his re-election campaign. Reagan’s victory bolsters Ailes’ reputation as a political consultant.
1988 – Presidential candidate George HW Bush hires Ailes as campaign director and media advisor. Ailes successfully guides Bush to victory.
– Ailes co-authors You Are the Message: Secrets of the Master Communicators, a book about persuasion, influence and communication.
1993 – Roger Ailes becomes president of NBC’s business and financial news network CNBC.
1994 – Ailes creates America’s Talking, a cable network focused on talk shows. It struggles to find an audience and flounders in the ratings.
1995 – Less than two years after its launch, America’s Talking is rebranded as MSNBC. Ailes is forced to leave NBC and, over Christmas 1995, negotiates a severance package with Jack Welch, CEO of NBC’s owner General Electric. It includes a clever loophole: although Ailes is prevented from working at other existing news networks, no mention is made of him starting a new network.
1996 – Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, hires Ailes to create Fox News. The “fair and balanced” network would go on to become an influential voice in conservative politics and highly profitable for Fox.
2005 – Roger Ailes becomes chairman and CEO of Fox Television Stations, replacing Murdoch’s oldest son Lachlan.
2014 – In The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News – and Divided a Country, author Gabriel Sherman alleges that Ailes offered a producer a raise in exchange for sex. Fox denies the allegations.
2016 – Gretchen Carlson files suit against Roger Ailes, alleging she was fired from Fox News for rejecting his sexual advances. Fox eventually settles.
– Under pressure from Rupert Murdoch, Ailes resigns from Fox News two weeks after Carlson’s lawsuit is filed. He’s given a $40 million severance package.
– After his resignation, more than two dozen other women came forward to accuse Ailes of sexual harassment.
2017 – After falling and hitting his head in the bathroom of his Palm Beach mansion, Roger Ailes dies of a subdural hematoma. Ailes was a hemophiliac, a condition that prevented his blood from clotting. He was 77.
CAST
“If you’re looking for someone powerful who can change your life or send you straight to hell, you’re talking to him.” – Roger Ailes
Russell Crowe Roger Ailes
RUSSELL CROWE is a three-time Best Actor Oscar nominee, winning for Gladiator. He is also a five-time Golden Globe nominee as Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, winning that award (as well as BAFTA and the SAG honors for Lead Actor) for his Oscar nominated performance in A Beautiful Mind. Crowe’s work in The Insider earned him nominations from the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA and SAG. The long list of films in which he played memorable roles also includes Romper Stomper, L.A. Confidential, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Cinderella Man, American Gangster, State of Play, Robin Hood, Les Misérables and Boy Erased.
“It’s not your show Gretchen. It’s my show. Do your job or you’ll be doing weather in a bikini in Des Moines.” – Roger Ailes
Naomi Watts Gretchen Carlson
NAOMI WATTS is a multiple Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee, as well as a Golden Globe nominee. She has been directed twice by David Lynch, starring in the critically acclaimed film Mulholland Drive and the recent 18-part SHOWTIME® limited series Twin Peaks. On the big screen, she stars in the upcoming films Luce and Ophelia. Her feature film credits include The Impossible, 21 Grams, I Heart Huckabees, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), St. Vincent, The Ring, King Kong, Eastern Promises, Fair Game, J. Edgar, The International and The Painted Veil.
“This isn’t going to work, Beth. You need to choose. Me or the job.” – Roger Ailes
Sienna Miller Elizabeth Ailes
SIENNA MILLER made her film debut opposite Daniel Craig in the 2004 indie thriller Layer Cake, directed by Matthew Vaughn. Additional film credits include Bennett Miller’s Foxcatcher, Clint Eastwood’s Oscar nominated American Sniper, Live by Night, Factory Girl, Alfie, The Lost City of Z, Casanova, The Edge of Love (British Independent Film Award nomination), Interview (Independent Spirit Award nomination, London Critics Circle Award nomination), G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Unfinished Business, Burnt and High-Rise (British Independent Film Award nomination). She was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2008.
Miller can be seen in the upcoming drama American Woman, directed by Jake Scott, and the upcoming crime drama 21 Bridges, opposite Chadwick Boseman.
In 2005, Miller made her West End debut in the Shakespeare revival of As You Like It. Additional theatre credits include The Royal Haymarket production of Flare Path and starring as the infamous Maggie in the 2017 Old Vic production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, opposite Jack O’Connell. In 2009 Miller made her Broadway debut in the play After Miss Julie. She also starred as Sally Bowles in Cabaret in the 2015 Broadway revival. Miller has supported many causes close to her heart and has served as a Global Ambassador for the International Medical Corps (providing emergency relief to those struck by disaster) for over a decade, traveling to Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Haiti and most recently South Sudan. She was born in New York, but quickly moved to England and lived and studied there for most of her life.
“I’m pretty damn sure that I’m still the boss. So how ‘bout you just do what I tell you, Bill?” – Roger Ailes
Seth MacFarlane Brian Lewis
SETH MacFARLANE’s talents encompass every aspect of the entertainment industry. He’s created some of the most popular content on television and film today while also expanding his career in the worlds of music and philanthropy. At 24, MacFarlane became the youngest showrunner in television history when he launched his animated series Family Guy, which is gearing up for its 18th season and has numerous nominations and four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and Outstanding Music and Lyrics. He also serves as co-creator, executive producer and voice actor on American Dad!; executive produced the 21st century version of Cosmos: A Space Time Odyssey and is currently executive producing the next installment of the series, Cosmos: Possible Worlds. He recently created, executive produces and stars in the live-action, one-hour space adventure series The Orville.
MacFarlane made his feature film directorial debut in 2012 with comedy film Ted. In 2013, he hosted the 85th Academy Awards in 2013 and was also nominated that same year for “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” for “Everybody Needs a Best Friend” from Ted. Due to its great success and cult following, the highly anticipated sequel Ted 2 was released in June 2015. He also wrote, produced, directed and starred in A Million Ways To Die In The West. Up next, his production company Fuzzy Door will produce the female ensemble comedy Fairy Tale Ending. As an actor, MacFarlane voiced Mike in the 2016 animated musical family comedy Sing. He also appeared in the heist film Logan Lucky.
MacFarlane’s debut album of standards Music is Better Than Words went on to receive four Grammy® nominations. His 2014 first-ever Christmas set, Holiday for Swing, also debuted at No. 1 and was followed by No One Ever Tells You and In Full Swing, his first No.1 Traditional Jazz album, garnering him two more Grammy nominations. His fifth album, Once In A While, was released earlier this spring.
MacFarlane created The Seth MacFarlane Foundation to focus his charitable efforts. He also executive produced the climate change documentary inspired by the nonfiction bestseller by Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything. Through his foundation, MacFarlane continues to be an avid supporter of science communication, cancer research, the Human Rights Campaign, Oceana, People for the American Way, Chrysalis, Perry’s Place and National Public Radio.
“A man in my position, a private man in a public world, I need absolute discretion. Absolute loyalty.”
– Roger Ailes
Simon McBurney Rupert Murdoch
SIMON McBURNEY will next be seen starring in the first season of Carnival Row, opposite Orlando Bloom. His feature film credits include Allied, The Conjuring 2, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, The Theory of Everything, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Manchurian Candidate, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Body of Lies, opposite his The Loudest Voice co-star Russell Crowe. Recently on stage he starred on Broadway in his critically acclaimed one-man show The Encounter, which he also created and directed.
Annabelle Wallis Laurie Luhn
ANNABELLE WALLIS was most recently seen in the feature film comedy Tag. She is currently in production on Robin Pront’s The Silencing, opposite Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. She recently wrapped Agata Alexander’s Warning as well as Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level, opposite Mel Gibson. Wallis was previously seen in the highly successful reboot of The Mummy, opposite Tom Cruise, as well as King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, the action thriller series Come and Find Me, opposite Arnie Hammer and in the psychological thriller Mine. Prior to this, Wallis appeared in the third season of Peaky Blinders. Other credits include The Brothers Grimsby, Annabelle, The Conjuring and Bond Girl. Among her other television credits are the four-part series Fleming, Pan Am and the SHOWTIME® original series The Tudors.
Aleksa Palladino Judy Laterza
ALEKSA PALLADINO has starred in many film festival favorites such as Manny & Lo, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole and Storytelling. She went on to work with legendary director Sidney Lumet on Find Me Guilty and Before the Devils Knows You’re Dead. While on Boardwalk Empire, Palladino began her working relationship with Martin Scorsese and has recently wrapped The Irishman, opposite Robert De Niro. On television, she starred in one season of Halt and Catch Fire and One Dollar. In addition to acting, Palladino is a singer-songwriter for Exitmusic, for which she has received much recognition and critical accolades. The 2012 release of her album Passage earned the 2nd place spot on NPR’s best 10 albums of the year. Palladino’s songs have appeared in numerous TV shows including Shameless and Eastbound & Down. Her latest album, The Recognitions was released in spring 2018.
CREDITS
Cast
Russell Crowe Roger Ailes
Sienna Miller Elizabeth Ailes
Naomi Watts Gretchen Carlson
Seth Macfarlane Brian Lewis
Annabelle Wallis Laurie Luhn
Simon McBurney Rupert Murdoch
Aleksa Palladino Judy Laterza
Josh Stamberg Bill Shine
Emory Cohen Joe Lindsley
Patch Darragh Sean Hannity
Jaime Jackson Ian Rae
Guy Boyd Chet Collier
John Finn Jack Welch
Mackenzie Astin John Moody
Susan Pourfar Dianne Brandi
Barry Watson Lachlan Murdoch
Rod McLachlan Jimmy Gildea
Taylor Louderman Carrie
Julee Cerda Wendi Deng
David Cromer David Axelrod
Lucy Owen Suzanne Scott
Josh McDermitt Glenn Beck
Erin Darke Kat Lindsley
Joe Cortese Roger Stone
Fran Kranz Gabriel Sherman
Josh Charles Casey Close
Jessica Hecht Nancy Erika Smith
Timothy Busfield Neil Mullin
Josh Helman James Murdoch
Production
Directed by Kari Skogland (#101, #102, #105)
Jeremy Podeswa (#103 & #104)
Stephen Frears (#106)
Scott Z. Burns (#107)
Written by Alex Metcalf
Tom McCarthy
Laura Eason
Gabriel Sherman
Jennifer Stahl
John Harrington Bland
Based on the book The Loudest
Voice in the Room and the New
York Magazine articles by Gabriel Sherman
Developed by Tom McCarthy and Alex Metcalf
Executive Producers Tom McCarthy
Jason Blum
Alex Metcalf
Liza Chasin
Kari Skogland
Jeremy Gold
Marci Wiseman
Padraic McKinley
Russell Crowe
Co-Executive Producers Laura Eason
Gabriel Sherman
Jennifer Stahl
Kerry Orent
Supervising Producer John Harrington Bland
Producers Tamara Isaac
Agatha Warren Barnes
Director of Photography Eigil Bryld
William Rexer
Tim Norman
Production Designer Stuart Wurtzel
Costume Designer Catherine Riley
Hair Department Head Pamela May
Make-Up Department Head Stephanie Pasicov
Special Effects Make-Up John Caglione Jr.
Adrien Morot
Brett Schmidt
Sound Supervisor Cormac Funge
Sound Mixer Scott R. Lewis
Editor(s) Padraic McKinley
Colleen Sharp
Matthew Woolley
Vanessa Procopio
Composer Marcelo Zarvos
Music Supervisor Liza Richardson
Casting by Terri Taylor
Allison Estrin and Henry Russell Bergstein
PRODUCER BIOS
Tom McCarthy/Executive Producer
TOM McCARTHY is an Oscar winning filmmaker, prolific writer, director, actor and producer. His film Spotlight, which he co-wrote and directed, won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for six Oscars in total, including Best Director. For Spotlight, McCarthy received a Directors Guild of America nomination, two Golden Globe nominations (Best Screenplay and Best Director) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay, as well as a Writers Guild of America Award (Best Original Screenplay).
McCarthy's previous directorial works include The Visitor, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for its film's star Richard Jenkins; Win Win and his acclaimed first feature The Station Agent, for which he received a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.
McCarthy co-wrote the animated feature Up, for which he received his first of three Oscar nominations (Best Original Screenplay). McCarthy is the executive producer of the series 13 Reasons Why, of which he has also directed select episodes.
McCarthy’s highly anticipated next project, Timmy Failure, adapted from the acclaimed children’s book, will be released this year.
As an actor, McCarthy made his screen debut in the 1992 film Crossing the Bridge and went on to appear in such films as Flags of our Fathers, Syriana, Good Night, and Good Luck., Meet the Parents and in the final season of The Wire.
Jason Blum/Executive Producer
BLUM, founder of Blumhouse Productions, is a three-time Academy Award® nominated, two-time Primetime Emmy Award and a two-time Peabody Award winning producer. His multimedia company is known for pioneering a new model of studio filmmaking: producing high-quality micro-budget films.
Blumhouse is widely regarded as a driving force in the current horror renaissance, and through the company, Blum’s feature film credits include: Ma, starring Octavia Spencer; the 2019 film Glass from M. Night Shyamalan; 2017 blockbusters Split from M. Night Shyamalan; Get Out from Jordan Peele; Halloween; BlacKkKlansman; The Gift; Unfriended; The Visit, among others; and the highly profitable franchises that include The Purge, Insidious, Sinister and Paranormal Activity.
Blum’s television company, run by Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold, successfully relaunched three years ago as a vibrant independent studio producing 11 series with over $100m in annual production revenue. Blumhouse Television currently has over 10 projects in production with different networks and streaming platforms, including but not limited to Sharp Objects, Sacred Lies and The Purge based on the successful film franchise. The company is currently in production on Into the Dark, a first-of-its-kind ongoing monthly horror anthology series, and also struck a deal for a series of eight straight to streaming films from underrepresented filmmakers. The indie studio has also earned critical acclaim, including a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for Sharp Objects and Emmy awards for its productions of The Normal Heart and The Jinx. The division also produced feature-length documentaries, with projects that include: This Is Home, the 2018 Sundance Audience Award winner (World Documentaries) and recipient of the prestigious duPont/Columbia School of Journalism Award and Bathtubs Over Broadway, the lauded documentary.
Blum has appeared on Vanity Fair’s “New Establishment List” each year since 2015, received the 2016 Producer of the Year Award at CinemaCon and was named to the TIME 100 list of the world’s most influential people in 2017. He is a member of the Sundance Institute’s Director’s Advisory Group. He also serves on the Board of the Public Theater in New York and the Board of Trustees for Vassar College. Before founding Blumhouse, Blum served as co-head of the Acquisitions and Co-Productions department at Miramax Films in New York. He began his career as the producing director of the Malaparte Theater Company, which was founded by Ethan Hawke.
He is married to journalist and screenwriter Lauren Blum and they have a daughter, Roxy, and a son, Booker.
Marci Wiseman/Executive Producer
MARCI WISEMAN is co-president of Blumhouse Television, along with her partner Jeremy Gold. Together they are leading the expansion of the Blumhouse brand beyond horror content to explore not only genre material, but also dark, provocative subject matter with projects like The Good Lord Bird, the eight-part limited series recently ordered by SHOWTIME®, executive produced by James McBride who wrote the bestselling book the series is based on; award-winning author Mark Richard and Ethan Hawke, who will also star in the series.
Since joining Blumhouse in 2016, Wiseman and Gold successfully relaunched Blumhouse Television as a vibrant independent studio producing 11 series with over $100m in annual production revenue. Blumhouse Television currently has over 10 projects in production with different networks and streaming platforms, including but not limited to Sharp Objects, Sacred Lies and The Purge, based on the successful film franchise. The company is currently in production on Into The Dark, a first-of-its-kind ongoing monthly horror anthology series and also struck a deal for a series of eight straight-to-streaming films from underrepresented filmmakers. The indie studio has also earned critical acclaim, including a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for Sharp Objects and Emmy Awards for its productions of The Normal Heart and The Jinx.
The duo has also built a significant feature-length documentary division, with projects that include: This Is Home, the 2018 Sundance Audience Award winner (World Documentaries) and recipient of the prestigious duPont/Columbia School of Journalism Award and Bathtubs Over Broadway, the lauded documentary.
A significant majority of Wiseman’s TV career has been spent building and growing independent content play television companies. As a long-time executive at AMC, Wiseman launched AMC Studios, whose first series was the mega-hit The Walking Dead and for which Wiseman orchestrated the unprecedented day-and-date global release of the series. She grew AMC’s library of owned content with series and launched the company’s foray into international co-production. As the sole executive responsible for building AMC’s highly successful distribution business, Wiseman brokered the cable group’s first exclusive SVOD deal as well subsequent SVOD deal and long-term distribution deals.
Before joining Blumhouse, Wiseman was Executive Vice President, Global Production and Business Affairs at eOne Television. From 2000-2010, Wiseman was the owner of a boutique specialized business development consulting firm developing, designing and managing new business models for various clients. Wiseman previously ran business affairs at Pressman Films and served as a VP of Business Affairs on the feature side at Columbia (Sony) Pictures. Wiseman also took a brief leave from the entertainment industry and served in the Riordan administration as Assistant Deputy Mayor, Economic Development for the City of Los Angeles.
She received her law degree from New York University and began her career at O’Melveny & Myers and earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. Wiseman and her husband have a daughter, Jillian. Wiseman is involved with and has been honored by JDRF – LA and A Place Called Home.
Jeremy Gold/Executive Producer
JEREMY GOLD is co-president of Blumhouse Television, along with his partner Marci Wiseman. Together they are leading the expansion of the Blumhouse brand beyond horror content to explore not only genre material, but also dark, provocative subject matter with projects like The Good Lord Bird, the eight-part limited series recently ordered by SHOWTIME®, executive produced by James McBride who wrote the bestselling book the series is based on; award-winning author Mark Richard and Ethan Hawke, who will also star in the series.
Since joining Blumhouse in 2016, Wiseman and Gold successfully relaunched Blumhouse Television as a vibrant independent studio producing 11 series with over $100m in annual production revenue. Blumhouse Television currently has over 10 projects in production with different networks and streaming platforms, including but not limited to Sharp Objects, Sacred Lies and The Purge, based on the successful film franchise. The company is currently in production on Into The Dark, a first-of-its-kind ongoing monthly horror anthology series and also struck a deal for a series of eight straight-to-streaming films from underrepresented filmmakers. The indie studio has also earned critical acclaim, including a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for Sharp Objects and Emmy Awards for its productions of The Normal Heart and The Jinx.
The duo has also built a significant feature-length documentary division, with projects that include: This Is Home, the 2018 Sundance Audience Award winner (World Documentaries) and recipient of the prestigious duPont/Columbia School of Journalism Award and Bathtubs Over Broadway, the lauded documentary.
Gold has had a long and successful career launching popular television programming for broadcast and cable networks. Before joining Blumhouse, he was Executive Vice President at Endemol Shine Studios. During his tenure there, he introduced Endemol USA into the scripted television space, first as a production company and later as a studio, launching Endemol Studios in 2012. Gold oversaw the development, financing and production of a broad slate which included the long-running award-winning drama series Hell on Wheels, format adaptations Low Winter Sun, Red Widow, Kingdom and the SHOWTIME® original series I’m Dying Up Here.
Prior to Endemol, Gold held senior leadership positions at both Twentieth Century Fox Television and FOX Broadcasting Company, where he developed numerous comedy series including the Emmy Award winning Arrested Development and The Bernie Mac Show, as well as American Dad and the hit reality show The Simple Life.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Gold began his career as an actor and theatrical producer. He founded and served as Artistic Director of New York City’s award-winning Zena Group Theater.
Liza Chasin/Executive Producer
LIZA CHASIN founded film and television production company 3dot Productions after a 26-year career at Working Title Films, culminating as the president of U.S. production. 3dot has a first look television deal with Anonymous Content and a first look film deal with Netflix.
A graduate of Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Chasin began her career in the entertainment industry serving in various capacities at a number of New York based production companies. Chasin first joined Working Title in 1991 as director of development and was elevated to the role of vice president of production and development, becoming the head of the Los Angeles office and overseeing the company’s creative affairs in the United States in 1996.
Chasin executive produced the feature films Mary Queen of Scots; Darkest Hour, which won a Golden Globe for Gary Oldman’s performance and received six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture; Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated Baby Driver and Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated Victoria & Abdul. She also executive produced 7 Days in Entebbe, Johnny English Strikes Again and Night in Hatton Garden. Among her other notable executive producing projects are the series Gypsy; Joel and Ethan Coen’s Hail, Caesar!; The Danish Girl; Everest; the award-winning and critically-acclaimed The Theory of Everything; About Time; Simon Pegg’s The World’s End; Les Misérables; the Academy Award winning Atonement; Anna Karenina; Asif Kapadia’s documentary Senna; Contraband; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Johnny English Reborn; Green Zone; State of Play and Definitely, Maybe.
Throughout her illustrious career, Chasin has been involved in the development and production of acclaimed films from many prolific filmmakers. Among her credits are Tim Robbins’ Academy Award winning Dead Man Walking, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Fargo and Notting Hill. She also co-produced Bridget Jones’s Diary, High Fidelity, Elizabeth, Love Actually and About a Boy.
Chasin currently sits on the leadership council of Time’s Up, an organization that insists on safe, fair and dignified work for women of all kinds. She has two daughters and resides in Los Angeles with her husband.
Kari Skogland/Executive Producer
Emmy nominated and BAFTA winning director and showrunner KARI SKOGLAND is CEO of Mad Rabbit, a Red Arrow Studios company which launched in 2016. Skogland’s award-winning work as director includes the series The Handmaid’s Tale, the first two episodes of NOS4A2 and the pilot of The Rook.
Skogland has become one of the world’s most prolific female directors of one-hour dramas and feature films. She was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Ten Directors to Watch for her auteur debut, won a prestigious BAFTA Award for directing the season one finale of The Handmaid’s Tale, nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for The Handmaid’s Tale season two and most recently was featured in Variety’s 2018 Women’s Impact Report.
Skogland’s additional television credits include the premiere season of Condor, The Borgias, Penny Dreadful, Boardwalk Empire, The Killing, The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, Under the Dome, Vikings, Power, The Americans, House of Cards and The Punisher. Skogland also directed Sons of Liberty, for which she won the Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-series.
As a feature film writer, director and producer, Skogland’s film Fifty Dead Men Walking, won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for an additional six awards including Best Film. Additionally, Skogland was recognized by the DCG for Best Director. Her previous film, The Stone Angel, which Skogland directed, wrote and produced, garnered nominations by the DGC for Best Director and Best Film, as well as Best Screenplay by the WGC, and a win for Ellen Burstyn for the Genie Award for Best Actress.
For her body of work, Skogland was honored at the BIRKS-TELEFILM 2015 Diamond Tribute to Women in Film. She has also worked for many years advocating with the DGA and DGC on behalf of women directors.
Padraic McKinley/Executive Producer
PADRAIC McKINLEY began his career in film as a music editor for renowned film editor William Anderson, A.C.E. on such successful collaborations as The Truman Show. McKinley has since edited 14 feature films and over 120 episodes of television. He most recently served as an executive producer on American Gods. In October 2018, McKinley released his original documentary series Fightworld, which he directed, wrote and edited. McKinley directed four episodes of the drama Kingdom, including the series finale and served as its co-executive producer, supervising editor, music editor and co-music supervisor. As a film editor, his feature film credits include Igby Goes Down, the 2004 remake of Alfie, 17 Again, Charlie St. Cloud, The Express, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Wheelman. Television credits include such notable shows as The Shield, Dexter and Lie to Me.
Alex Metcalf/Executive Producer
ALEX METCALF has written and produced for theater, film and television. His television work includes Kingdom, UnREAL and Sharp Objects. Alex lives in Los Angeles where he wonders daily why he left New York. He has two children and no pets.
Gabriel Sherman Co-Executive Producer
GABRIEL SHERMAN is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair, where he covers the Trump White House and national politics. Most recently, Sherman served as national affairs editor at New York Magazine and he is a regular contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. He is the author of the 2014 New York Times bestseller The Loudest Voice in the Room, about the late Fox News C.E.O. Roger Ailes.
SYNOPSES
EPISODE 101 - 1996
Roger Ailes, fresh from being fired from his perch atop CNBC, joins forces with media magnate Rupert Murdoch to form Fox News Channel, a conservative leaning cable news channel. Working feverishly to get ahead of the competition, Roger must do the unthinkable — put an entire network on the air in the space of six months.
EPISODE 102 - 2001
Five years later and Fox News Channel is on the cusp of passing CNN to become the #1 rated news network. Then 9/11 changes everything...Emboldened and horrified by this terrorist attack on American soil, Roger begins pushing the news with an agenda, using his network to help drive the Bush Administration’s push to war in Iraq and finally put Fox on top of the ratings race.
EPISODE 103 - 2008
With the election of “Barack Hussein Obama,” Roger and Fox News Channel have found the ultimate enemy -- one that will drive Fox’s coverage as well as cement their ratings at #1. Fighting to take full editorial control of Fox News, Roger finds himself in conflict with both his boss, Rupert Murdoch, and the Obama Administration. What no one suspects are the hidden depths of Roger’s secret world.
EPISODE 104 — 2009
Still fighting the “socialist” in the White House, Roger finds his legacy in Joe Lindsley, a 25 year old acolyte he’s hired to be the editor of a newspaper he’s bought in upstate New York. Turning this once-innocuous local paper into a conservative news source, Roger also achieves his revenge against the Obama White House by promulgating a news story which forces Congress into action against Obama’s priorities. Roger is energized by the knowledge that Fox News Channel doesn’t have to just report news, they make news.
EPISODE 105 — 2013
Fox News Channel is now the dominant news outlet and Roger’s working the levers of his power — over his network, over Fox and Friends host Gretchen Carlson who’s getting too demanding, over Joe Lindsley, who’s starting to question his work for Roger and over Gabe Sherman, an intrepid journalist who’s digging ever deeper into Roger’s secret world. While Roger is buffeted by these threats, he doesn’t see the danger posed by Gretchen Carlson. After years of harassment by Roger, she’s finally had enough.
EPISODE 106 — 2015
Gretchen Carlson has been secretly taping Roger’s harassment for over a year and is working with Nancy Erika Smith, a brassy New Jersey lawyer specializing in sexual harassment. Recovering from prostate surgery, Roger goes all in to achieve his political ends: Electing a president. And he’s found the perfect candidate in Donald Trump. This causes conflict with Murdoch, who has no desire to publicly support such a divisive figure, but Roger sees the possibilities in Trump even as he struggles with his health. But Roger makes a mistake, he fires Gretchen, unwittingly setting into motion not her demise…but his own. Gretchen and Nancy immediately go into high-gear – They’re going public with their lawsuit against Roger.
EPISODE 107 - 2016
Once Gretchen Carlson’s lawsuit becomes public, Roger moves into crisis mode, doing anything and everything he can to save his career and his legacy. Ultimately, it’s not enough. Roger is fired from Fox. But even as he’s lost everything, his greatest achievement eclipses him — Donald Trump wins the presidency.