In this image released by Fox, Matt Dillon, portraying Ethan Burke, right, appears with Terrence Howard, portraying Sheriff Arnold Pope in a scene from the series "Wayward Pines," premiering May 14. (AP Photo/Fox, Ed Araquel)
NEW YORK (AP) --
Fox says it will premiere its psychological thriller "Wayward Pines" next May 14 simultaneously in more than 125 countries, including the United States.
The company says it believes that will be the widest-ever premiere of a scripted television series. The 10-episode series stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent trying to find two missing agents in a small Idaho town. Terrence Howard, Juliette Lewis and Melissa Leo will also be featured in the series, which is based on a novel developed for television by "The Sixth Sense" producer M. Night Shyamalan (SHAH'-mah-lahn).
Broadcast networks are increasingly saving some of their high-profile limited series for the summer to keep consumers from switching in bigger numbers to cable networks.
Merman has officially announced the signing of director Ritesh Gupta for commercial representation in the U.S. Gupta had joined Merman last year but was working on a feature film for most of 2024 so the production company held off until now on making the signing public.
The director is a former award-winning sports journalist and creative director. He’s created noteworthy campaigns from Budweiser’s viral “Dwyane Wade: This Bud’s for 3,” which he directed, to the multi-award winning Beats by Dre campaign “You Love Me,” which Gupta worked on as group creative director at the agency Translation. The “You Love Me” film, which was directed by Melina Matsoukas, earned a primetime commercial Emmy nomination in 2021 as well as a DGA Award win for PRETTYBIRD director Matsoukas. This marked the second Emmy nod for Gupta. Back in his MTV days he was a producer on a documentary, Aftershock: Diary of Gideon in Pakistan, which garnered a News & Documentary Emmy nomination.
As a director, Gupta’s approach is to layer a truthful authenticity ingrained during his time as a journalist--along with an emotional intelligence he honed storytelling in the documentary world--to craft his own evocative and unique cinematic style. In addition to his two Emmy nods, he has netted four Webbys, six AICP wins, eight Cannes Lions, 25 Clios and recognition from ADCOLOR and the ANDYs.
“Ritesh brings a unique perspective to his storytelling,” said Merman global director Ellen Clarke. “He has the ability to identify the multilayers of a narrative and its characters, weaving them impactfully together. His strength lies in his connection to the talent’s performance and discovering the authenticity within the story.”
