New Series Premieres in HBO Asia

HBO CELEBRATES WOMEN THIS AUGUST

Watch brand new series UNITED STATES OF TARA and NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY back to back this month on HBO / HBO HD

PHILIPPINES, 18 august 2010 – Two highly anticipated series will premiere back to back August 30 on HBO / HBO HD, starting with the award-winning UNITED STATES OF TARA at 10pm and the HBO Original Series NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY at 11pm:

UNITED STATES OF TARA

• Premieres with two seasons back to back on Monday, August 30 at 10pm, with new episodes weekly

Suburban wife and mother Tara Gregson juggles her family and career while suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder. It’s never a dull moment in the Gregson household as various identities may appear on any given day – and range from “T”, a flirtatious and spunky teenager, to “Buck,” a gun-loving male alter – all while her supportive husband Max and their two teenage children, Kate and Marshall, try to lead as much of a “normal” life as possible.

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Diablo Cody (Oscar^® winning screenwriter for Juno) who also created and wrote the series, Cody reveals that the subtext of the series is really about women in today’s society, most of whom are trying – sometimes in vain – to juggle all their responsibilities simultaneously. But it’s not just about the women and mothers: UNITED STATES OF TARA is, overall, a tribute to family and how, together, they overcome obstacles of all kinds. Spielberg and Cody are joined by DreamWorks producing partners Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank, and fellow executive producer, Alexa Junge (Friends).

The complexities of Tara and her alters are brought to life by Toni Collette, who won both an Emmy^® and Golden Globe^® award for her outstanding lead role in this series. John Corbett plays Max, her loving husband of almost 20 years, who tries to keep up with Tara’s alters. Sarcastic and rebellious daughter Kate, played by Brie Larson, and tender-hearted bookworm son Marshall, played by Keir Gilchrist, have learned to cope with their mother’s unpredictable personalities. Rosemarie DeWitt is Tara’s insecure sister, Charmaine, who cannot accept Tara’s condition and envies the attention her sister has received from it.

NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY

• Premieres with a 2-hour pilot episode on Monday, August 30 at 11pm, with new hour-long episodes weekly at the same time

Based on the international bestselling novels by Alexander McCall Smith, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency stars Grammy Award winner Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose and Lucian Msamati. Filmed in Botswana, this HBO series chronicles the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, an eminently sensible and wise proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. Aided by her highly efficient yet rather peculiar secretary Grace Makutsi, Precious investigates cases, helps people solve problems in their lives, and begins a special friendship with JLB Matekoni, the highly respectable owner of a garage.

Directed by the late Anthony Minghella (Oscar^® winner for The English Patient), the two-hour pilot for THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY serves as the first episode of the HBO series. Executive producers of the pilot were the late Sydney Pollack (Oscar^® winner for Out of Africa), Richard Curtis (Emmy^® winner for HBO’s The Girl in the Café), Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein. Anthony Minghella, Timothy Bricknell and Amy J. Moore served as producers on the pilot. The Emmy^®-nominated series is now under the supervision of Richard Curtis, who also wrote the screenplay for the pilot with Anthony Minghella. New episodes of THE NO. 1 LADIES’ DETECTIVE AGENCY are written by Nicholas Wright and Robert Jones, and directed by Charles Sturridge and Tim Fywell. The new episodes are once again produced by Timothy Bricknell and executive produced by Richard Curtis, Amy J. Moore, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein