Gina Torres

USA Flexes Programming Muscle With New Original Scripted Series "A Legal Mind" and "Necessary Roughness"

USA, the #1 Cable Network for Five Years Running, Builds on Unprecedented Line-up of Original Hits

LOS ANGELES, CA - January 19, 2011 - USA Network has announced today the pickup of two original scripted series, A LEGAL MIND and NECESSARY ROUGHNESS, as it expands on the ’Characters Welcome’ brand and increases its programming slate to a record number of scripted originals for the network. Each series will debut with a 90-minute premiere followed by 11 one-hour episodes. The announcement was made today by Jeff Wachtel, USA’s president, original programming, and co-head, original content, Universal Cable Productions.

A LEGAL MIND stars Patrick J. Adams ("Lost," "Friday Night Lights"), Gabriel Macht ("Love and Other Drugs," "Whiteout"), Meghan Markle ("CSI Miami," "Fringe"), Gina Torres ("Gossip Girl," "Huge") and Rick Hoffman ("Samantha Who," "Knight Rider"), and NECESSARY ROUGHNESS stars Callie Thorne ("Rescue Me," "Prison Break"), Marc Blucas ("Buffy, The Vampire Slayer"), Mehcad Brooks ("Desperate Housewives," "True Blood") and Scott Cohen ("NYPD Blue").

"At USA, we like to say that the quality of the material advances the projects - and these are two great pilots!" said Wachtel. "A LEGAL MIND and NECESSARY ROUGHNESS take our original series to a new level, while honoring the character brand filter that has been so crucial to our success."

In A LEGAL MIND, one of Manhattan’s top corporate lawyers (Gabriel Macht) sets out to recruit a new hotshot associate and hires the only guy that impresses him - a brilliant but unmotivated college dropout (Patrick J. Adams). Though he isn’t actually a lawyer, this legal prodigy has the book smarts of a Harvard law grad and the street smarts of a hustler. However, in order to serve justice and save their jobs, both these unconventional thinkers must continue the charade. From Universal Cable Productions, A LEGAL MIND is executive produced Doug Liman (COVERT AFFAIRS, the "Bourne" trilogy, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," "The O.C.") and David Bartis (COVERT AFFAIRS, "The O.C.," "The Heist") of Hypnotic. Creator Aaron Korsh ("The Deep End") wrote the pilot and serves as co-executive producer and producer Gene Klein (COVERT AFFAIRS) serves as producer. Kevin Bray (WHITE COLLAR, BURN NOTICE, "Walking Tall") directed the pilot.

NECESSARY ROUGHNESS focuses on a tough, sexy Long Island divorcee (Callie Thorne) who gets a job as therapist for a professional football team in order to make ends meet. Underestimated at every turn, she succeeds beyond all expectations and soon finds herself a sought - after therapist to high-profile clients. Athletes, musicians, politicians and others living in the spotlight - all in a moment of crisis - clamor for her unique brand of tough love therapy. As a newly single mom raising two teenagers, her start-up practice wreaks havoc on her life. But recognizing that she’s changing people’s lives for the better, she is determined to make her new career work by striking a balance between her personal and professional worlds. Created by writers and co-executive producers Liz Kruger & Craig Shapiro ("Miami Medical," "The Challenge") along with supervising producers Donna Dannenfelser and Joe Sabatino. Kevin Dowling ("Sons of Tucson") directed the pilot and also serves as executive producer. Inspired by a true story, NECESSARY ROUGHNESS is a Sony Pictures Television and Universal Cable Productions co-production.

USA is the home to eight original scripted series: BURN NOTICE, ROYAL PAINS, WHITE COLLAR, PSYCH, IN PLAIN SIGHT, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT and COVERT AFFAIRS, with FAIRLY LEGAL being the newest original series to premiere.

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry’s leading content providers, producing and distributing programming worldwide in every genre including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment, and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. SPT is a leader in local language productions around the world, and sells SPE-owned formats in approximately 70 countries. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE’s long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with 132 channel feeds, which are available in more than 140 countries reaching more than 500 million households worldwide. Additionally, SPT owns multiplatform premium video service, Crackle, Dutch entertainment company 2waytraffic, production company Embassy Row, Sony Movie Channel, and is a part owner of cable channel GSN, 3D channel 3net, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc.

Universal Cable Productions creates quality content across multiple media platforms for USA, Syfy and other networks. A leader in innovative and critically acclaimed programming, UCP is the studio behind USA’s ROYAL PAINS, LAW & ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT, PSYCH, IN PLAIN SIGHT and COVERT AFFAIRS along with Syfy’s EUREKA, WAREHOUSE 13 and CAPRICA. The studio also produced both long-running series MONK and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. UCP is a division of NBC Universal.

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 102 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.