NBC Offers "The Last Templar" Preview Online  1/16/09

UNIVERSAL CITY, California – Spotlighting NBC's upcoming four-hour miniseries "The Last Templar" (for broadcast on Sunday and Monday, January 25-26, 9-11 p.m. ET both nights), The NBC Agency has produced "Making 'The Last Templar,'" a 30-minute sneak peek of the epic adventure to be conveyed over NBC's affiliate stations beginning in January (check local listings) and available on NBC.com at http://www.nbc.com/the-last-templar/ now through February 24.

"Making 'The Last Templar'" roams around the world and behind the scenes of the international production. The special features Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, Scott Foley, Victor Garber and Omar Sharif as they share their experience of making this epic action-adventure on location in Montreal and Morocco. The show also takes a look at the amazing stunts, special effects, and exotic locations that are featured in the film -- and examines the background of the legendary and mystical medieval Templars.

"Making The Last Templar" is a production of The NBC Agency and RHI Entertainment.

In the miniseries, Oscar winner Sorvino ("Mighty Aphrodite," "Mimic") stars in an epic action-adventure tale about the greatest mystery of modern time. As the journey begins, Tess Chaykin (Sorvino), a Manhattan archaeologist, reluctantly teams up with FBI agent Sean Daley (Foley, "The Unit," "Felicity") – and the pair are drawn into a fast-paced, romantic adventure as they attempt to uncover the lost secrets of the legendary medieval Knights Templar.

The miniseries also features Garber ("Eli Stone," "Alias") as Monsignor De Angelis, a high-placed Vatican envoy. Veteran thespian Sharif ("Doctor Zhivago," "Lawrence of Arabia") rounds out the all-star cast playing the role of Konstantin, a Greek savant who rescues Tess and Agent Daley after they are shipwrecked and wash up on the beach at Symi.

"The Last Templar" opens at a premiere gala for an exhibition of Vatican treasures at the Fine Arts Museum in New York City. Shortly after arriving, Tess witnesses four masked horsemen, dressed as Templar Knights, storm into the Museum, scattering Manhattan society. Tess watches in silent terror as the leader of the horsemen hones in on one particular piece -- a strange geared device that he grabs as he disappears into Central Park.

Rewind to 1291 with the fall of the Latin Kingdom's reign in the Holy Land in Acre. As the burning city is taken by the Sultan's forces, a lone galley escapes out to sea, carrying Martin of Carmaux, a young knight from the historic order of the Knights Templar. Also on the galley are Martin's mentor, Aimard of Villiers and a mysterious chest that contains a secret Templar scroll which was entrusted to them by the Order's dying Grand Master. But the ship never reaches its destination and the secret scroll is never revealed.

Back to present day, as the horsemen's dead bodies start turning up -- and the importance of the stolen device becomes more apparent -- Tess and Agent Daley are drawn into the dark, hidden history of the crusading Knights and of the last surviving Templars' fateful journey from Acre. The pair is soon propelled into a dangerous adventure that takes them into the cemeteries and sewers of Manhattan, across continents, through desolate Turkish highlands and finally to a violent storm on the Mediterranean that shipwrecks them onto a remote Greek island -- and into the very heart of an incredible Vatican secret.

"The Last Templar" is produced by Muse Entertainment Enterprises. Emmy Award-winning television impresario Robert Halmi Sr. ("Tin Man," "Gulliver's Travels"), Robert Halmi, Jr. ("The Poseidon Adventure," "The Christmas Card"), and Michael Prupas ("Human Trafficking") serve as executive producers of the miniseries.

Source: NBC Press Release