Cinemax Changes Focus with Strike Back!

Strike Back Poster

With Strike Back, HBO’s racier cable outlet steps away from its ‘Skinema’ nickname and moves into the realm of hard-edged action-adventure. The premise of new series [which premieres on Friday, August 12th at 10/9C] is as follows: when a resourceful international terrorist group plots an attack, a charismatic former U.S. Special Forces operative joins forces with a stealth British military unit to stop them.

Further details – including the blurb for the series premiere, cast and production details, the official trailer and two clips follow the jump.

HIGH-OCTANE SERIES STRIKE BACK, STARRING SULLIVAN STAPLETON,
PHILIP WINCHESTER AND AMANDA MEALING, DEBUTS AUG. 12 ON CINEMAX
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Andy Harries and Elaine Pyke Executive Produce;
Dan Percival and Frank Spotnitz Co-Executive Produce
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When a resourceful international terrorist group plots an attack, a charismatic former U.S. Special Forces operative joins forces with a stealth British military unit to stop them in the ten-episode action series STRIKE BACK, debuting FRIDAY, AUG. 12 (10:00-10:45 p.m. ET/PT) on CINEMAX. The show marks the first time HBO/CINEMAX has worked with UK broadcaster Sky to produce an original series.

Sullivan Stapleton (“Animal Kingdom”) and Philip Winchester (“Crusoe”) star, with Amanda Mealing (“Holby City”), Eva Birthistle (“Silent Witness”), Jimi Mistry (“Blood Diamond”), Rhashan Stone (“Episodes”) and Richard Armitage (“The Hobbit”).

Executive producers are Andy Harries (HBO?s “Longford”) for Left Bank; Elaine Pyke (“The Runaway”) for Sky; co-executive producers are Dan Percival (HBO?s “Dirty War”) and Frank Spotnitz (“The X-Files”). Directors for the series are Dan Percival
(HBO?s “Dirty War”), Alex Holmes (HBO?s “House of Saddam”), Bill Eagles (“Fringe”) and Paul Wilmshurst (“Law & Order: UK”). Writers are Frank Spotnitz, Richard Zadjlic (“EastEnders”), Tony Saint (“Margaret Thatcher: The Long Walk to Finchley”) and Simon Burke (“Persuasion”).

The timely, fast-paced series mixes suspense, action and drama, spanning the globe from India to South Africa, from England to Chechnya. Shot on location in South Africa and Hungary, STRIKE BACK began production in February and will wrap in late summer.

The team that tracks the terrorists is Section 20, an elite military black ops unit within the British government that focuses on high-risk, top-priority targets. When one of their own is captured and held hostage, the group enlists the help of Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton), a former Delta Force operative who is familiar with the terrorists. Although he has good instincts and skills, his cocky style is often at odds with the more formal team, especially the more by-the-book Sgt. Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester). Team leader Col. Eleanor Grant (Amanda Mealing) is a smart, tough military leader who is skilled with a gun and diplomacy, but knows when to break a rule or two.

STRIKE BACK is a CINEMAX Presentation in association with British Sky Broadcasting Limited; a Left Bank Pictures Production; executive producers, Andy Harries for Left Bank and Elaine Pyke for Sky; co-executive producers, Dan Percival and Frank
Spotnitz; series producer, Michael Casey; producers, Trevor Hopkins and Sue De Beauvoir; co-producer Bill Shepard.

Episode #1
Debut: FRIDAY, AUG. 12 (10:00-10:45 p.m. ET/PT)

After agent John Porter (Richard Armitage) is kidnapped by Pakistani terrorist Latif, the rest of his team from Section 20, an elite secretive British Military Intelligence unit, race against the clock to find him. They quickly learn that only Porter and one other man, former U.S. Delta Force operative Damien Scott (Sullivan Stapleton), can identify Latif. Sgt. Michael Stonebridge (Philip Winchester), tasked with finding Scott, tracks him to an underground fight ring in Kuala Lumpur. Scott agrees to help Section 20 and decodes a hidden message from one of Porter?s hostage transmissions that warns of a terror attack at a hotel in India and a plot known as Project Dawn, which the unit has been tracking for some time.

Led by Col. Eleanor Grant (Amanda Mealing), senior team members Capt. Kate Marshall (Eva Birthistle) and Maj. Oliver Sinclair (Rhashan Stone), Section 20 sets up a covert surveillance operation in New Delhi and are aided by Pakistani Intelligence Officer Major Ashkani (Jimi Mistry). Their intelligence proves correct when terrorists seize the hotel with hostages, including Scott and Stonebridge, trapped inside.

Written by Frank Spotnitz; directed by Dan Percival.

Photo and clips courtesy of HBO/Cinemax