Copper - Lead Cast & Production Team Announced

Tom Weston-Jones, Anastasia Griffith, Kyle Schmid and Franka Potente To Front 2012 Crime Series

Steve Cosens, John Blackie, and Delphine White Join Production Team

Toronto, January 4, 2012– BBC AMERICA, Cineflix Studios, and Shaw Media today announced lead cast for their original scripted series, COPPER. Tom Weston-Jones (MI-5,akaSpooks) is set to star as rugged Irish-American cop Kevin Corcoran. Alongside Weston-Jones is Canadian Kyle Schmid (Blood Ties, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) as Robert Morehouse, a handsome bon vivant and part of Manhattan aristocracy, and Anastasia Griffith (Royal Pains, Damages), as the sophisticated and spirited Elizabeth Haverford. Rounding out the cast is Franka Potente (The Bourne Supremacy, Run Lola Run) who is set to play Eva Heissan, a shrewd businesswoman and the Madam of Eva’s Paradise.

Additionally, the talents of three top production pros have been secured to develop and execute the look and feel of mid-1800s New York – the setting for COPPER. Steve Cosens (Durham County) has signed on as Director of Photography, John Blackie (Hell on Wheels) is Production Designer, and Delphine White (Breakout Kings) is Costume Designer.

COPPER is a gripping crime series set in 1860s New York City, and centers on Kevin Corcoran, an intense, rugged Irish-immigrant cop working the city’s notorious Five Points neighborhood. Corcoran is struggling to maintain his moral compass in a turbulent world, while on an emotional and relentless quest to learn the truth about the disappearance of his wife and the death of his daughter. His friendship with two Civil War compatriots – the wayward son of a wealthy industrialist and an African American physician who secretly assists Corcoran with his work – takes him to the contrasting worlds of elegant Fifth Avenue and rural Harlem. The three men share a secret from their experience on the battlefield that inextricably links their lives forever.

“We’re thrilled to have Tom Weston-Jones, Kyle Schmid, and Anastasia Griffith – all stars in the making – join the cast of COPPER,” said Christina Wayne, President, Cineflix Studios. “Franka Potente brings her undeniable talent and feature experience to the mix.”

“COPPER is a visually rich, unflinching drama that requires a gifted and experienced production team,” said Vlad Wolynetz, President of Production, Cineflix Studios. “Steve, John, and Delphine are perfectly suited to meet this challenge.”

The series is created by Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide: Life on the Streets, St. Elsewhere) and Will Rokos (Monster’s Ball, Southland). Among the co-executive producers on the series are Fontana, Rokos, Barry Levinson (Good Morning, Vietnam, Rain Man, You Don't Know Jack) and Christina Wayne, President of Cineflix Studios (Broken Trail and executive in charge of Mad Men at AMC).

The series premieres on BBC AMERICA in the summer of 2012 and in Canada on Shaw Media’s Showcase in fall 2012.