Series Overview - TNT Press Release
Jon Tenney and Rebecca Romijn are on the Case
In TNT's Brand New Drama Series King & Maxwell
Characters Based on Bestselling Books by Author David Baldacci To Premiere Monday, June 10, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
Jon Tenney (The Closer) and Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) are about to join TNT's enormously popular stable of crime solvers when they headline the brand new scripted drama King & Maxwell. In the new series, they will play private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, characters originally seen in the bestselling series of books by author David Baldacci, and developed for series by NCIS: Los Angeles creator, Shane Brennan. King & Maxwell is set to premiere Monday, June 10, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), immediately following the season premiere of TNT's hit drama series Major Crimes.
Sean King (Tenney) and Michelle Maxwell (Romijn) aren’t your typical private investigators. Both are former Secret Service agents, and their unique skills – not to mention their razor-sharp chemistry – give them a leg up on conventional law enforcement. Maxwell is a former elite athlete who uses her brains, beauty and Beltway connections to solve cases. King's career in the Secret Service ended when the presidential candidate he was assigned to protect was assassinated, sending him on a downward spiral. Today, King has added a law degree to his arsenal of skills, allowing him to navigate the system in ways a typical private investigator never could. Along the way, King and Maxwell clash over everything, from her garbage-strewn car to his love of wine over beer.
King & Maxwell also stars Michael O'Keefe (Michael Clayton) and Chris Butler (The Good Wife) as F.B.I. Special Agents Rigby and Carter, who clash with King and Maxwell over their less-than-legal methods. In addition, Ryan Hurst (Sons of Anarchy, TNT's Wanted) stars as Edgar Roy.
King & Maxwell is being produced by CBS Television Studios, in association with Shane Brennan Productions. Shane Brennan (NCIS: Los Angeles), who developed the series and penned the pilot, serves as Executive Producer, alongside Grant Anderson (Third Watch) and Chris Downey (Leverage.) Karen Spiegel (Absolute Power) serves as producer and David Baldacci as series consultant.
About TNT
TNT is television's destination for drama. Seen in 99 million households and ranking among cable's top networks, TNT is home to such original drama series as Rizzoli & Isles, Falling Skies, Dallas, Major Crimes, Perception, Franklin & Bash and the upcoming King & Maxwell. The network also features dramatic unscripted originals like Boston's Finest and the upcoming 72 Hours, The Hero and Cold Justice. In addition, TNT is the cable home to popular dramas like Castle, The Mentalist, Bones and Supernatural; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards; blockbuster movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.
TNT is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. Turner Broadcasting creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.
Pilot Episode Photos - Photo Credit: Jan Thijs
Episode Synopses
“Pilot” – Monday, June 10 at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
Sean King (Jon Tenney) and Michelle Maxwell (Rebecca Romijn) aren’t your typical private investigators. Both are former Secret Service agents, and their unique skills – not to mention their razor-sharp chemistry – give them a leg up on conventional law enforcement. Maxwell is a former elite athlete who uses her brains, beauty, and Beltway connections to solve cases. King’s Secret Service career ended when the candidate he was assigned to protect was assassinated, sending him in a downward spiral. Today, King has added a law degree to his arsenal of skills, allowing him to navigate the system in ways a typical private investigator never could. When a lawyer friend of Sean’s is mysteriously murdered, Sean decides to represent the serial killer, an autistic savant that his friend was defending in hopes to discover what happened to him. Together, King and Maxwell discover a possible plot that has political repercussions.
Directed by Michael Katelman
Written by Shane Brennan
Developed by Shane Brennan
Based on the ‘King’ & ‘Maxwell’ Series by David Baldacci
Teleplay by Shane Brennan
“Second Chances” – Monday, June 17 at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
When Michelle is questioned after an assassination attempt on a visiting diplomat she was once assigned to protect, Sean steps in as her lawyer. The two begin to investigate a possible high-level cover-up to help clear Michelle’s name.
Directed by Tony Wharmby
Written by Shane Brennan
Developed by Shane Brennan
Based on the ‘King’ & ‘Maxwell’ Series by David Baldacci
“Wild Card” – Monday, June 24 at 10 p.m. (ET/PT)
When FBI Agent Carter (Chris Butler) is suspended after assaulting an officer, King and Maxwell begin to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. What they find leads them on a bizarre trail involving clues from Carter’s most recent case. Meanwhile, Sean reveals more about his past as a Secret Service Agent and the mistake that led to his downfall.
Directed by Paul Kaufman
Written by Chris Downey
Developed by Shane Brennan
Based on the ‘King’ & ‘Maxwell’ Series by David Baldacci
Characters
Sean King
Jon Tenney
A former Secret Service agent and attorney, Sean King is now a private investigator with his friend and partner, Michelle Maxwell. Armed with his charm and quick wit, Sean can talk himself out of almost any situation...usually because he's forgotten his gun. And while they may differ in style and methodology, Sean is at his best when working together with Michelle.
Michelle Maxwell
Rebecca Romijn
Also an ex-Secret Service Agent, Michelle Maxwell is as dangerous as she is beautiful. While she may be a bit of a slob with an impulsive streak and a hair-trigger temper, she knows how to handle herself in a tight spot. Despite constantly clashing with Sean over just about everything from pop songs to dating habits, Michelle is the true yin to his yang.
Edgar
Ryan Hurst
Intimidating-looking, this suspected serial killer is a silent "man-giant" seen chained in his prison cell on a suicide watch. A high-functioning autistic savant with an extraordinary ability to see patterns and numerical sequences, the case takes a surprising turn when Sean King agrees to be his lawyer.
FBI Agent Rigby
Michael O’Keefe
Gruff, skeptical, and dry, this veteran federal agent is a by-the-book authoritarian who loathes having to deal with private investigators meddling in his crimes scenes. Especially when they’re ex-Secret Service Agents. After Sean and Michelle begin solving case after case, Rigby starts to see them as colleagues... but that doesn't mean he has to be nice about it.
FBI Agent Carter
Chris Butler
This FBI agent is Rigby's junior partner. He actually likes Sean and Michelle and tends to help their investigations, much to the chagrin of Rigby.
Cast Bios
Jon Tenney
Sean King
Jon Tenney appeared for seven seasons on the critically acclaimed TNT drama “The Closer;” in which he portrayed FBI Agent Fritz Howard, opposite Kyra Sedgwick. The series received 4 SAG Award nominations for best ensemble cast. Jon also directed one episode of “The Closer” as well as an episode of its spin-off “Major Crimes,” where he reprised his role as Agent Fritz Howard in 4 episodes.
After graduating from Vassar College, Tenney trained at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. Appearing in his first school play in the 3rd grade, Jon has an extensive theatrical background, which includes 4 seasons with the famed Williamstown Theatre Festival working opposite such actors as Christopher Walken, Dianne Wiest, Blythe Danner, Kevin Spacey, and Christopher Reeve among many others.
Film credits include: “Legion,” “Stepfather,” “Rabbit Hole,” “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World” the Showtime movie “Homecoming,” “You Can Count On Me”, with Laura Linney, Matthew Broderick and Mark Ruffalo, “Tombstone” opposite Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, "Watch It," “Fools Rush In”, “Beverly Hills Cop III”, “The Phantom”, “Lassie,” “Music from Another Room,” “With Friends Like These,” “Entropy,” “Lovelife,” Oliver Stone's "Nixon" and Showtime’s “Twilight of the Golds.”
In 1989, he co-starred alongside Candice Bergen in the hit TV series “Murphy Brown” (as “Josh”) the older brother of Miles. Tenney’s varied television credits include starring roles in Dick Wolf’s “Crime & Punishment”(NBC), Thomas Carter's “Equal Justice” (ABC), Steven Bochco’s “Brooklyn South” (CBS), “Dirty Dozen: The Series”(FOX), “Get Real”(FOX), “Good Company”(CBS) and “Kristin”(NBC). Additionally, he has made guest appearances on such hit shows as “CSI”, “Will & Grace”, “Without aTrace,” and most recently 3 episodes of the hit HBO series “The Newsroom.”
On stage, Tenney most recently starred in David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People” at the Geffen Theatre in Los Angeles opposite Jane Kaczmarek. He starred in the Tony Award-winning revival of “The Heiress” on Broadway as well as the national touring company of Tom Stoppard’s Tony Award-winning “The Real Thing” directed by Mike Nichols. In the winter of 2006 at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, Tenney starred in the award-winning David Mamet play, “Speed-the-Plow,” portraying the title character of Bobby Gould, opposite Alicia Silverstone and Greg Germann. Off-Broadway he originated the role of Mitch Albom in the critically acclaimed stage version of “Tuesday’s With Morrie". At The Old Globe, he played Romeo in "Romeo & Juliet" as well as starring in Terrence McNally's "Up In Saratoga" opposite Mary Louise Parker. At New York's Roundabout Theatre he starred opposite Holly Hunter in Beth Henley’s “Impossible Marriage”.
Other notable Broadway productions include Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Biloxi Blues” and “A.R.Gurney’s “Sweet Sue”, co-starring with Lynn Redgrave and Mary Tyler Moore. Additional Off-Broadway productions include the title role in "Tartuffe", the original company of "A Shayna Maidel", David Marshall Grant's "Current Events" and John Patrick Shanley’s “Beggars in the House of Plenty” at Manhattan Theatre Club, and Jon Robin Baitz’s “The Substance of Fire” and John Guare’s “Chaucer in Rome" at the renowned Lincoln Center.
Rebecca Romijn
Michelle Maxwell
Rebecca Romijn continues to maintain her leading lady status in Hollywood with roles in a number of prominent film and television projects. Romijn can be seen next in the new TNT series “King and Maxwell” where she plays Michelle Maxwell a former Secret Service agent who is now a private investigator. The series is based off bestselling author David Baldacci‘s popular characters Sean King and Michelle Maxwell and Romijn stars opposite Jon Tenney.
Romijn most recently starred in the Tyler Perry romantic comedy Good Deeds opposite Tyler and Thandie Newton and in the Adult Swim comedy NTSF:SD:SUV opposite Paul Scheer, Martin Starr and Rob Riggle. Previously she co-starred for two seasons on the Emmy nominated ABC comedy series “Ugly Betty.” Romijn played ‘Alexis Meade,’ formerly known as ‘Alex Meade,’ the presumed dead brother of current MODE Magazine editor ‘Daniel’ (Eric Mabius). In its debut season, the show won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and the Writers Guild Award for Best New Series.
She also starred in the blockbuster hits X-Men, X2, as well as X3: The Last Stand. In this trio of films she played villainess ‘Mystique,’ opposite Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry. She recently reprised this role for a cameo in X-Men: First Class. However, it was her role in Brian De Palma’s Femme Fatale opposite Antonio Banderas that won her critical acclaim. In this film noir thriller, Romijn plays a woman attempting to go straight, while being haunted by her shady con-woman past. The Los Angeles Times said of her performance, “Not since Sissy Spacek burned up the screen in “Carrie” has a De Palma woman held the screen as forcefully as Rebecca Romijn.” Other film credits include, The Punisher, Godsend, Rollerball, Simone, Lies and Alibis, Man About Town and most recently, Lake City.
Romijn previously starred on the WB series “Pepper Dennis.” She began crossing over from the fashion world to TV with memorable appearances on the hit television shows “Friends” and “Just Shoot Me,” as well as hosting MTV’s “House of Style.”
She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, actor Jerry O'Connell and their twin daughters.
Ryan Hurst
Edgar Roy
In 2012 remarkably versatile actor Ryan Hurst completed his five-year turn on FX networks mega hit Sons of Anarchy as the undisputed fan favorite Opie Winston. His performance shared the Satellite Awards win for “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television with Peter Dinklage in 2011.
Ryan is arguably best known for his breakout performance starring opposite Denzel Washington in Disney's mega-hit Remember the Titans, for which he also directed the film's second unit footage. Additional high-profile feature film roles include Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, the Coen Brothers' The Ladykillers with Tom Hanks, We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson, Patch Adams with Robin Williams, Rules of Engagement with Samuel L. Jackson and Disney's animated feature Rango with Johnny Depp.
Recent independent film work includes starring alongside Alan Rickman in CBGB, the story of the birth of Punk Rock in America, which is set for release in 2013. Ryan also recently starred in the short film Midnight Rider, written by Jordan Harper (The Mentalist) and produced and directed by Nina Corrado (The Mentalist).
Additional television credits include Steven Speilberg’s Taken, TNT's action-packed cop drama Wanted and NBC's Emmy award-winning Medium (three seasons, reoccurring).
On stage, Hurst's starring role in The Last Night of Ballyhoo with Rhea Pearlman and Rebecca Gayheart earned him the "Best Performance in a Comedy" award from Backstage West. The Viking Underground Repertory, Hurst's Equity Theater Production Company, debuted to rave reviews in 2004 with its newly adapted production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, in which Hurst starred, directed & produced.
Hurst, along with his wife, Molly Cookson, owns his own production company, Fast Shoes Productions.
Hurst recently directed two of the newly introduced "Sons of Anarchy" episodes. Hurst is currently in pre-production on a feature film he wrote and is set to direct in 2014.
Hurst is excited to return to TNT with a new hour-long drama “King & Maxwell”, playing Edgar Roy, an altogether unique human being who just so happens to live happily with Savant Syndrome and Autism, possessing an astonishing ability to process data.
Michael O’Keefe
FBI Agent Rigby
Over the span of his career, Michael O'Keefe has appeared in a number of critical and commercial hit films, such as Michael Clayton, Frozen River, Apt 143, Junction, The Pledge, Ironweed, Caddyshack, and The Great Santini, for which he garnered both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.
Television audiences will remember him as "Fred" on Roseanne, or from his other appearances on The West Wing, Law and Order, House M.D., The Closer and Brothers and Sisters. On Broadway, Michael has appeared in productions of Reckless, Side Man, The Fifth of July and Mass Appeal, for which he received a Theater World Award.
In addition to acting, Michael also enjoys writing in a variety of forms. In 2009, he wrote and published a book of poems entitled Swimming from Under My Father, which was very well received and reviewed. He penned the lyrics for the Grammy winning song, Longing in their Hearts, which was composed and sung by Bonnie Raitt. More recently, his work with Bonnie included writing the lyrics for Marriage Made in Hollywood, composed by Paul Brady that appeared on her new album Slipstream, which won the Grammy for best Americana Record 2013. His writing has also appeared in BOMB, Lake Affect and Chaparral, and he holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Bennington College.
Chris Butler
FBI Agent Carter
Chris Butler is an accomplished screen and stage actor who, up till now, is perhaps best known for his portrayal of ASA Matan Brody on The Good Wife. He’s also had major or recurring roles in Werner Herzog's Rescue Dawn (starring Christian Bale), True Blood, NCIS: LA, Torchwood, Criminal Minds, Castle, Two Guys and a Girl, iCarly (costarring First Lady Michelle Obama) and Rizzoli & Isles (as Detective Darren Crowe).
In the theater, Chris has performed the works of the some of the greatest playwrights of the past and present, from William Shakespeare to August Wilson to David Mamet and beyond. On Broadway, Chris played Audra McDonald's brother, Noah, in the Tony nominated revival of 110 In The Shade. And he was blessed to call Phylicia Rashaad, Diahann Carroll, Clifton Davis and Leslie Uggams "family" in Blue at The Pasadena Playhouse. Chris has received two LA Ovation, LA Drama Critics' and NAACP Theater Awards for his work in Yellowman at the Fountain Theater and Stick Fly at the Matrix Theater.
Raised in Charlotte, NC, Chris is a graduate of West Mecklenburg High School. It was there, with the help of Planned Parenthood’s FOCUS Teen Theater Troupe, that he discovered his passion for acting. With the tremendous love and support of his family, Chris went on to study theater in college, receiving a BA in Dramatic Arts from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in Acting from UC-San Diego.
Chris now spends much of his time on the softball fields and golf courses of sunny Southern California, where he currently resides with his beloved Tatiana and two great pups.
Production Bios
Shane Brennan
Executive Producer
Shane Brennan serves as executive producer of the new TNT series, “King & Maxwell” which he developed based on a series by the bestselling author David Baldacci. In addition, he is creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the hit CBS series and top drama, “NCIS: Los Angeles,” and an executive producer on “NCIS.”
His other television credits include “CSI: Miami,” “One Tree Hill,” and “Summerland.” Prior to coming to Los Angeles in 2003, Brennan worked on a number of Australian television series including "Tales of the South Seas," "The Man From Snow River: The McGregor Saga," "Witch Hunt" and "Ocean Girl," among others.
Brennan has won a number of national and international awards, including two Australian Writers Guild Awards for Best Television Series and Best Situation Comedy; a 'Penguin' Award for Best Television Series Episode; an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Mini-Series; and a Chicago Film Festival Award, also for Best Mini-Series. He has been nominated five times for Australian Writers Guild Awards. In 2009, Brennan was awarded the Television Showman of the Year award by the International Cinematographers Guild.
Born in Australia, Brennan is a journalism graduate. Currently, he resides in Los Angeles and Australia with his wife Cathryn, and his three children.
Grant Anderson
Executive Producer
Grant Anderson serves as executive producer of “King & Maxwell,” alongside Chris Downey and Shane Brennan. He is also President of Shane Brennan Productions, where he oversees development and production for the company’s projects.
Prior to Shane Brennan Productions, Anderson was Vice President of Current Programs at CBS Television Studios, overseeing hit series such as “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Criminal Minds,” and the “CSI” franchise.
Anderson stared his career in television at Lorimar and Warner Bros Television on the show “Homefront,” and subsequently worked his way up the ranks with the John Wells Group on series such as “ER” and “Third Watch.”
Born in Northern California but raised in Los Angeles, he is a rabid fan of the Giants and 49ers, but admits to a soft spot in his heart for the Dodgers. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and their two children.
Chris Downey
Executive Producer
Chris Downey is an American television writer and producer who co-created the show Leverage that ran for 5 seasons on TNT and is currently showrunner and executive producer of the new show King & Maxwell coming to TNT in summer 2013. Downey got his start in television writing an episode of Cosby for CBS and proceeded to write for several other shows including Alan Ball's Oh, Grow Up, and the James L. Brooks produced What About Joan. In 2001 he went on to become a writing producer on the long-running Kevin James-starrer The King of Queens.
Prior to his career in television, Downey was a white collar criminal defense attorney and also worked in journalism. Downey currently hosts a weekly podcast The Downey Files where he and a guest writer tackle a half-baked movie idea and attempt to develop it in full in half an hour.
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