Pablo Schreiber To Star As 'Master Chief' In Showtime Series 'Halo'

SHOWTIME has announced that Emmy and Tony(R) nominee Pablo Schreiber (First Man, Orange Is the New Black) has been cast as the lead in the highly anticipated SHOWTIME series HALO, based on the iconic Xbox(R) franchise. Schreiber will play Master Chief, Earth's most advanced warrior in the 26th century and the only hope of salvation for a civilization pushed to the brink of destruction by the Covenant, an unstoppable alliance of alien worlds committed to the destruction of humanity. Newcomer Yerin Ha will play a new character within the HALO world: Quan Ah, a shrewd, audacious 16-year-old from the Outer Colonies who meets Master Chief at a fateful time for them both. The series is produced by SHOWTIME in partnership with 343 Industries, along with Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and will begin production this fall in Budapest, Hungary.

Halo reinvented how people think about video games and has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon, having sold more than 77 million copies worldwide and grossing more than $60 billion in lifetime sales worldwide. In its adaptation for SHOWTIME, HALO will take place in the universe that first came to be in 2001, dramatizing an epic 26th-century conflict between humanity and an alien threat known as the Covenant. HALO will weave deeply drawn personal stories with action, adventure and a richly imagined vision of the future.

Kyle Killen (Awake) and Steven Kane (The Last Ship) serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. HALO is also executive produced by Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television in partnership with 343 Industries, director Otto Bathurst and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture, Scott Pennington for Chapter Eleven, and Karen Richards. The series will be distributed globally by CBS Studios International.