History is going to war.
The cable network, fresh off the ratings success of The Bible and Hatfields & McCoys, is developing a miniseries set around the American Revolution, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
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Sons of Liberty will follow a defiant and radical group of young men -- Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams, Paul Revere, Patrick Henry and Benedict Arnold -- as they band together in secrecy to change the course of history and make America a nation. Together, they called themselves the Sons of Liberty and lit the spark of what would become a revolution: the American Revolution.
Details are scarce on the project, but the limited series hails from Stephen David Entertainment, the production company behind History's The Men Who Built America, its eight-hour mini that focused on John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and J.P. Morgan. The mini, which was told over four two-hour broadcasts, averaged 2.6 million total viewers in late 2012.
The mini comes a day after History revealed it was developing a Harry Houdini mini with Oscar nominee Adrien Brody attached to star.
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Both projects come as History has found both critical and ratings success with its longform entries. The Bible recently concluded its 10-episode run with a two-hour finale that averaged 11.7 million viewers, boosting History's first scripted series, Vikings, which was renewed for a second season. Last summer's Hatfields & McCoys shattered network records over the course of its three-day run and concluded with 14.3 million total viewers. It was nominated for 16 Emmys, taking home wins for lead actor Kevin Costner and supporting actor Tom Berenger, among others.
Sons of Liberty comes five years after HBO collected 13 Emmy wins out of 23 nominations for its John Adams miniseries, including statuettes for stars Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson, among others.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
