The HISTORY(R) channel today announces the greenlight of the new nonfiction series “Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman” (working title) hosted and executive produced by the Academy Award-winning actor as part of A+E Networks MIPCOM upfront presentation. Produced by Freeman and producer Lori McCreary’s production company, Revelations Entertainment, the six one-hour episode series will reveal in detail history’s greatest convict escapes from some of the most notorious prisons in the world.
As co-star of The Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman knows about great escapes.
I’ve been inside the minds of prisoners in my acting career, and I’m looking forward to stepping inside the most notorious prisons in the world, like Alcatraz, Sing Sing, Riker’s Island and Leavenworth. Audiences will feel like they’re making the escapes themselves as I walk them into a virtual world and through the greatest escapes in history,” said Morgan Freeman.
“The HISTORY channel is honored to partner with Morgan and his production team, Revelations Entertainment, to deliver context and backstory to some of history’s infamous prison escapes,” said Eli Lehrer, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the HISTORY channel. “Morgan’s gravitas will help ground this series and drive the drama in a way no other face or voice can.”
Famous jailbreaks are the stuff of legend as their true stories are often untold. Now, with dramatic recreations, dynamic storytelling and cutting-edge visual effects escapes from prisons like Alcatraz and Sing Sing will come to life in graphic detail. Hosted by Freeman, each episode will unearth every step of an inmate’s meticulous plan, the escape route and the intense manhunt that immediately followed.
“Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman” (w.t.) is produced for the HISTORY channel by Revelations Entertainment. Lori McCreary, James Younger and Kelly Mendelsohn are executive producers for Revelations Entertainment. Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef are executive producers for the HISTORY channel.
A+E Networks launches its MIPCOM Upfront today with a global catalog that will effectively meet the needs of its international partners, boasting more than 800 fresh hours of ratings-proven mega-franchises, award-winning premium docuseries and biographies, and a powerful collection of first-run TV movies that reflect its status as the number-one producer of original TV movies in the world.
The A+E Networks MIPCOM Upfront presentation will boast projects from A-list HISTORY channel talent including Laurence Fishburne, host of the new programming franchise “History’s Greatest Mysteries,” Tim Allen, from the recently announced series “Assembly Required,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (“Black Patriots“), and William Shatner (“The UnXplained“); as well as talent from sister networks A&E and Lifetime including Robin Givens, director of Lifetime’s Ann Rule movie adaptation “A Murder to Remember,” Wendy Williams, executive producer of Lifetime’s “Wendy Williams: The Hot Topic” biopic and its accompanying feature-length documentary on Williams, and Sharon Osbourne, executive producer of “The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne;” part A&E Network’s genre-defining, Emmy Award-winning “Biography” banner.
About the HISTORY(R) channel
The HISTORY(R) channel, a division of A+E Networks, is the premier destination for historical storytelling. From best-in-class documentary events, to a signature slate of industry leading nonfiction series and premium fact-based scripted programming, the HISTORY(R) channel serves as the most trustworthy source of informational entertainment in media. The HISTORY(R) channel has been named the #1 U.S. TV network in buzz for seven consecutive years by YouGov BrandIndex, and a top favorite TV network by Beta Research Corporation. For a deeper dive, visit history.com or follow @history on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
About REVELATIONS ENTERTAINMENT
Revelations Entertainment is a production company founded by Academy award-winning actor Morgan Freeman and Emmy-nominated producer Lori McCreary. Recent successes have been an Emmy Award nomination for the science show “Through the Wormhole” and a Peabody Award and Emmy Award for ESPN’s 30 for 30 episode “The 16th Man” and an Academy Award nomination for Freeman’s portrayal of Nelson Mandela in the Revelations’ film Invictus.
