Preview for New CBS Series "Smith" to Air September 19th  8/30/06

RAY LIOTTA, VIRGINIA MADSEN, SIMON BAKER, AMY SMART, JONNY LEE MILLER, FRANKY G AND CHRIS BAUER STAR IN "SMITH," A NEW DRAMA SERIES ABOUT A BAND OF THIEVES WHO PLOT AND EXECUTE

HIGH STAKES ROBBERIES, PREMIERING TUESDAY, SEPT. 19 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

New Series From Executive Producer John Wells ("ER") Premieres with Limited Commercial Interruption

Ray Liotta, Virginia Madsen, Simon Baker, Amy Smart, Johnny Lee Miller, Franky G and Chris Bauer star in the new drama series SMITH, premiering Tuesday, Sept. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. SMITH delves into the world of high stakes robberies, where Bobby Stevens (Liotta) finds himself leading a double life as the leader of a band of thieves who pull off intricate and ingenious jobs and then goes back to being the typical nine-to-five, suburban family man. The series, from executive producer John Wells, creator of "ER," will premiere with limited commercial interruption.

Leading this close-knit crew of career criminals is Bobby Stevens (Liotta), who appears to be a regular family man with a nine-to-five job, but is actually an expert thief who is seeking just two or three more big paydays so he can finally leave the business for a comfortable, lawful lifestyle with his wife, Hope (Madsen), and their two children. While Bobby never discusses his illegal pursuits, Hope is growing suspicious. Bobby's second family, his core band of partners, each bring their own areas of expertise to pulling off the biggest and most sophisticated armed robberies. 

Joe (Franky G) is in charge of all things transportation oriented; Jeff (Baker), who is the most reckless of the bunch, is responsible for the firepower; Tom (Miller), is on parole after being busted during a previous caper and his sometime lover, Annie (Smart), is a beautiful master of disguise who can manipulate any situation with her looks. The FBI's, Agent Dodd (Bauer), has been following the robberies for some time, and remains determined to catch the team but is most interested in capturing "Smith," the police codename for the crew's mysterious leader and the brains behind the entire operation. It remains to be seen whether Bobby will be able to extricate himself in time from the scores that give him such a rush, or if his retirement will be a forced one -- behind bars.

In the premiere episode, Bobby receives his next job from his superior, Charlie (Shohreh Aghdashloo), which will require his crew to break into the Tanner Museum in Pittsburgh to steal several paintings. While Bobby proceeds with his double life, Hope starts getting suspicious of his supposed career as a salesman at a paper company.

When the team congregates in Pittsburgh, the well-executed robbery is put into motion. Everything is going as planned until shots are fired.

In November 2004, Ray Liotta garnered an Emmy Award for his performance on "ER." Liotta recently completed production on the feature films "Slow Burn," which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival; "Even Money," which co-stars Danny DeVito and Kim Basinger; "Smokin Aces," in which he stars opposite Ryan Reynolds and Andy Garcia, and the comedy "Comeback Season." Liotta also recently completed production on the fantasy film "In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale," opposite Jason Statham and John Rhys-Davies. The film that perhaps brought Liotta his most widespread acclaim is Martin Scorcese's "Goodfellas," in which he starred alongside Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci as the tortured half-Sicilian, half-Irish Henry Hill. 

A Golden Globe Award-nominated performance in Jonathan Demme's edgy "Something Wild" began the ascent for Liotta. Shortly after, Liotta starred in "Dominick and Eugene" before landing the role of the soul-searching ghost, Shoeless Joe Jackson, in the Academy Award-nominated "Field of Dreams." Liotta's additional film credits include "Corrina, Corrina," "Heartbreakers," "Hannibal," "Unlawful Entry," "No Escape," "Blow," "John Q," "Copland" and "Identity." Liotta also added the title of producer to his distinguished resume for the 2002 film "Narc" which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and was later released by Paramount. Liotta was nominated for an IFP Award for Best Actor for his performance. In the video game world, he voiced the main character, Tommy Vercetti, in "Grand Theft Auto."

Virginia Madsen is an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated actress for her work in the award winning film "Sideways." Madsen has starred in a multitude of films. Recently she starred opposite Harrison Ford in the action thriller "Firewall" and alongside Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in "A Prairie Home Companion." She will also be seen in the upcoming films "The Number 23" with Jim Carrey, "The Astronaut Farmer," starring opposite Billy Bob Thornton and in "The Ripple Effect." Additional film credits include Francis Ford Coppola's "The Rainmaker," "Ghosts of Mississippi," "The Hot Spot" and the cult classic "Candyman." Virginia's versatility was seen in the independent film, "Almost Salinas," opposite John Mahoney and in "American Gun," opposite James Coburn.

Simon Baker received a Golden Globe Award nomination for his work on the CBS drama, "The Guardian." Baker's film credits include "Land of the Dead," "The Ring 2," the Academy Award-winning "LA Confidential," "Affair of the Necklace," "Red Planet," "Sunset Strip," "Judas Kiss," "Restaurant," "Love from Ground Zero" and "Ride With the Devil," which screened at the 1999 Deauville Film Festival and was also a gala presentation at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. Baker most recently starred opposite Sanaa Lathan in the romantic comedy "Something New" and in "The Devil Wears Prada."

Amy Smart's film credits include "Just Friends," "The Butterfly Effect," "Blind Horizon," "Starsky & Hutch," "Project Greenlight's Battle of Shaker Heights," "Rat Race," "Roadtrip," "Scotland, PA," "Outside Providence," "Varsity Blues," "Starf*cker," "Starship Troopers" and "The Last Time I Committed Suicide." Smart will be seen in the upcoming thriller "Crank," starring opposite Jason Statham. Smart's television credits include "Felicity" and the miniseries "The '70s."

Jonny Lee Miller is a British actor who rose to prominence as "Sick Boy" in Danny Boyle's widely acclaimed film "Trainspotting." Miller has gone on to star in such films as "Plunkett & Macleane" opposite Robert Carlyle, "Mansfield Park" opposite Frances O'Connor, and in "Afterglow" opposite Lara Flynn Boyle. Recently, Miller starred in Woody Allen's new film "Melinda and Melinda" opposite Radha Mitchell and Chloe Sevigny and in "Aeon Flux" opposite Charlize Theron. Miller will next be seen in the lead in Douglas Mackinnon's film "The Flying Scotsman." SMITH marks Miller's first time as a regular cast member on network television.

Franky G has made his mark in Hollywood in a short period of time starring in such projects as "Saw II" and "Jonny Zero." Growing up in Flushing, Queens, Franky was a talented athlete and student, who was awarded the opportunity to play football at North Eastern A&M College in Oklahoma. When a knee injury ended his athletic career, Franky took a shot at acting, appearing in such off-Broadway productions as "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" and "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie." Franky's film credits include "Manito," "Confidence," "The Italian Job" and "Wonderland."

Chris Bauer honed his skills on the stage in Chicago performing with such noted ensembles as the Steppenwolf Theatre Company as well as the famed Goodman Theatre. Chris made his Broadway debut in "A Streetcar Named Desire" for which he was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award. Bauer's film credits include "Face Off," "Devil's Advocate," "Flawless," "8 MM," "Animal Factory" and "Keane." He will also appear in the upcoming Clint Eastwood directed drama "Flags of our Fathers." Chris' television credits include, HBO's "61," Third Watch" and "The Wire." He will be seen in the upcoming miniseries "The Lost Room" opposite Peter Krause

Shohreh Aghdashloo is widely known for her devastating performance as Nadi in "House of Sand and Fog," which earned her an Academy Award nomination. Aghdashloo's performance also brought her kudos from the Independent Spirit Awards, the New York Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Associations, all of which named her 2003's Best Supporting Actress. Aghdashloo's feature film credits include "American Dreamz," starring opposite Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in "The Lake House" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." She also starred in "America So Beautiful" and "Maryam." Aghdashloo will transform herself into Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, for the film "Nativity," which will be released in December. Aghdashloo starred opposite Keifer Sutherland during the fourth season of "24." Her additional television credits include guest starring appearances on "ER" and "Will & Grace."

Emmy Award winner John Wells, Christopher Chulack and Brooke Kennedy are executive producers for Warner Bros. Television.

Source: CBS Press Release