History channel said it gave a green light to a new non-fiction series with the working title Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman.
The show, to be hosted and executive produced by Freeman, who stared in classic prison film The Shawshank Redemption, will focus on prisoners who broke out of some of the world’s most notorious jails.
“I’ve been inside the minds of prisoners in my acting career, and I’m looking forward to stepping inside the most notorious prisons in the world, like Alcatraz, Sing Sing, Riker’s Island and Leavenworth. Audiences will feel like they’re making the escapes themselves as I walk them into a virtual world and through the greatest escapes in history,” said Freeman.
Revelations Entertainment, Morgan’s production company, is making six one-hour episodes.
“The History channel is honored to partner with Morgan and his production team, Revelations Entertainment, to deliver context and backstory to some of history’s infamous prison escapes,” said Eli Lehrer, executive VP and general manager for History. “Morgan's gravitas will help ground this series and drive the drama in a way no other face or voice can.”
The show is part of History parent company A+E Networks’ Mipcom upfront which will also features Laurence Fishburne, host of the new programming franchise History’s Greatest Mysteries; Tim Allen, from the recently announced series Assembly Required; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of Black Patriots and William Shatner with The UnXplained.
History’s sister networks will present Robin Givens, director of Lifetime’s Ann Rule movie adaptation A Murder to Remember; Wendy Williams, executive producer of Lifetime’s Wendy Williams: The Hot Topic biopic and its accompanying feature-length documentary on Williams, and Sharon Osbourne, executive producer of The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, part A&E Network’s Emmy Award-winning Biography franchise.
Great Escapes with Morgan Freeman is produced for the History channel by Revelations Entertainment. Lori McCreary, James Younger and Kelly Mendelsohn are executive producers for Revelations Entertainment. Mary E. Donahue and Max Micallef are executive producers for the History channel.
