NBC AND BLOCKBUSTER TO OFFER CUSTOMERS ADVANCED SCREENING DVD OF MUCH-ANTICIPATED FALL DRAMAS ‘CHUCK,’ ‘JOURNEYMAN’ AND ‘LIFE’

NEW SERIES ALONG WITH TWO-MINUTE PREVIEW OF NEW DRAMA 'BIONIC WOMAN' AVAILABLE AT PARTICIPATING BLOCKBUSTER STORES AND AT BLOCKBUSTER ONLINE STARTING TODAY THROUGH OCTOBER 21

BURBANK – September 4, 2007 – NBC and BLOCKBUSTER are joining together to offer customers an exclusive advanced look at the premiere episodes of NBC's new Fall dramas "Chuck," "Journeyman," and "Life," as well as a two-minute sneak preview of the new drama "Bionic Woman." The episodes and sneak preview will be available in a specially made DVD created exclusively for BLOCKBUSTER.

The DVD, titled the "NBC New Fall Preview DVD," will be available starting today through October 21 as a free rental exclusively at any of approximately 5,000 participating BLOCKBUSTER stores nationwide. In addition, subscribers to BLOCKBUSTER Total Access or BLOCKBUSTER by Mail can add the exclusive DVD to their rental queue.

The announcement was made by John Miller, Chief Marketing Officer, NBC Universal Television Group and Curt Andrews, Chief Marketing Officer, Blockbuster Inc.

"This innovative arrangement will allow Blockbuster's in-store and online customers an exclusive sneak peek at our highly anticipated dramas before their respective broadcast premieres," said Miller. "We're always looking for unique ways to create buzz surrounding our programs, and this promotion is a big-tent approach with a renowned entertainment partner. We fully believe this will create great word-of-mouth excitement for our quality shows."

"We are very excited about our alliance with NBC to offer this exclusive content to Blockbuster customers," said Andrews. "There's been an increase in availability of TV shows on DVD and this is just one of many ways that Blockbuster offers customers convenient access to this type of entertainment."

To drive awareness of the offer, NBC and BLOCKBUSTER will utilize a variety of promotional vehicles including on-air promo spots beginning today. At participating BLOCKBUSTER stores, the DVD will be featured on the "New Release" wall and on point-of-purchase pieces. Employees also will wear promotional buttons. Spots for the four NBC shows will be featured in-store on the BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. Online, BLOCKBUSTER will promote the DVD via banner ads and promotional merchandising slots on their most viewed pages as well as in their e-mail newsletter.

About "Chuck" From executive producer, Josh Schwartz ("The O.C.") and executive producer-director McG ("Charlie's Angels," "We Are Marshall") comes a one-hour, action-comedy series about Chuck Bartowski (Zachary Levi, "Less Than Perfect") -- a computer geek who is catapulted into a new career as the government's most vital secret agent. When Chuck opens an e-mail subliminally encoded with government secrets, he unwittingly downloads an entire server of sensitive data into his brain. Now, the fate of the world lies in the unlikely hands of a guy who works at a Buy More Electronics store. Instead of fighting computer viruses, he must now confront assassins and international terrorists.

With the government's most precious secrets in Chuck's head, Major John Casey of the National Security Agency (Adam Baldwin, "My Bodyguard") assumes the responsibility of protecting him. His partner is the CIA's top agent (and Chuck's first date in years), Sarah Walker (Yvonne Strahovski, "Gone"). They'll try to keep him safe by trading in his pocket protector for a bulletproof vest. Also starring are Joshua Gomez ("Without a Trace") as Morgan Grimes, Chuck's best buddy, and Sarah Lancaster ("What About Brian?") as Chuck's ever-supportive sister, Ellie. Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak wrote, "Chuck," which is produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision, in association with Warner Bros. Television.

About "Journeyman" From Emmy Award-winning writer-producer Kevin Falls ("The West Wing") and Emmy Award-winning director-producer Alex Graves ("The West Wing") comes "Journeyman" a romantic mystery-drama about San Francisco newspaper reporter and family man, Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd, "Rome"), who inexplicably begins to travel through time and change the course of people's lives. Along the way, he must also deal with the difficulties and stress at work and home brought on by his sudden disappearances.

However, his freewheeling travels through the years reunite him with his long-lost fiancée, Livia (Moon Bloodgood, "Day Break") -- which complicates his blissful, present-day life with his vivacious wife, Katie (Gretchen Egolf, "Martial Law") and adorable son, Zach (Charles Henry Wyson, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"). Reed Diamond ("Homicide: Life on the Street") stars as Jack, Dan's cop brother who once dated Katie. "Journeyman" is a production of 20th Century Fox Television. Falls is executive producer and writer; Graves is executive producer and director of the pilot.

About "Life" From Rand Ravich ("The Astronaut's Wife"), Far Shariat ("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"), and David Semel, who directed the pilot of NBC's "Heroes," "Life" is a new drama about a detective who is given a second chance. Damian Lewis ("Band of Brothers") stars as complex, offbeat Detective Charlie Crews, who, thanks to close friend and attorney Constance Griffiths (Brooke Langton, "Melrose Place"), returns to the force after serving time in prison for a crime he didn't commit.

The cast also includes Sarah Shahi ("Rush Hour 3") as Charlie's skeptical, demanding partner, Robin Weigart (HBO's "Deadwood") as their hard-hitting lieutenant, and Adam Arkin ("Chicago Hope") as Crews' former cellmate Ted Early. "Life" is a Universal Media Studios production. Rand Ravich is executive producer and writer; Far Shariat and Dan Sackheim are executive producers on the series; David Semel is executive producer and director on the pilot.

 

Source: NBC Press Release

 

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