Stuart Townsend to Star in Reelz Spy Thriller XIII, Premiering 6/29

ReelzChannel - TV About Movies(R) today announced its second original scripted drama series XIII premieres Friday, June 29th, 2012 at 9pm ET and at 9pm PT. XIII, starring Stuart Townsend, Aisha Tyler and Virginie Ledoyen, is the story of a man's quest to uncover the truth about his identity while trying to stop a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the U.S. government and could change the balance of power in the world. Named for the Roman numeral "XIII" tattoo on his neck, XIII (Townsend) is a former secret operative who has been stripped of his memory. He does not know who he is, what he is trained to be or whom he serves. Hunted by a dark anti-government organization, XIII searches for clues that will uncover the secret that makes him so valuable - and so potentially dangerous. Jones (Tyler) is a government agent and XIII's most loyal ally. She is also under Presidential orders to discover what, if anything, XIII knows. Season one of XIII features 13 episodes with new episodes premiering Fridays at 9pm ET and at 9pm PT. Encore presentations of XIII episodes will air on Saturdays at 11am ET/ 8am PT, Sundays at 7pm ET/ 4pm PT and 11pm ET/ 8pm PT and Wednesdays at 10pm ET and at 10pm PT.

"Friday nights on REELZ are all about big stories filled with action," said Matthew Singerman, SVP of REELZ Programming. "We introduced viewers to our first original series True Justice on a Friday night and we're launching XIII right out of the season one finale on Friday, June 29th."

The XIII series is based on Jean Van Hamme's adrenaline-fueled graphic novels, which have sold more than 16 million copies worldwide since the first volume was published 25 years ago. XIII also stars Virginie Ledoyen (The Beach) as Irina, a ruthless mercenary hired by the former U.S. President to track XIII, and former Bond Girl, Caterina Murino (Casino Royale) as Sam, XIII's trustworthy ally and love interest. Also starring in XIII is Greg Bryk (Immortals, Saw 3D: The Final Chapter) as Amos, a national security officer, Stephen McHattie (Immortals, 2012) as President Carrington and Ted Atherton (Max Payne, The Border) as Wally Sheridan, the former U.S. President and a possible traitor. Tom Berenger (Inception, Training Day) guest stars as Gerhardt, a mysterious European industrialist who wields power from The Shadows. XIII was developed and produced by Jay Firestone's Prodigy Pictures and Luc Besson's French Production Company EuropaCorp Television (La Femme Nikita).