Bill Paxton, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Brendan Fraser Set for ‘Texas Rising’

History Announces Texas Rising Event Series
Jeffrey Dean Morgan at 'The Losers' Premiere - © Richard Chavez

The title may change, but the cast is set for History’s Texas Rising, an eight-hour event series coming to the network in 2015. Texas Rising will examine the roots of the Texas Rangers and will, according to History, explore the Texas Revolution against Mexicans in order to chart the founding and rise of the Texas Rangers.

Set to star in the event series are Bill Paxton, Brendan Fraser, Ray Liotta, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Thomas Jane, Olivier Martinez, Chad Michael Murray, Michael Rapaport, and Max Thieriot. Hatfields & McCoys‘ Leslie Greif is executive producing the limited series with Oscar nominee Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields, The Mission) attached to direct.

History’s revealed who each member of the all-star cast will be playing:

· Bill Paxton is Sam Houston, the father of Texas.

· Brendan Fraser is Billy Anderson, a Texas Ranger with Comanche Indian ties.

· Ray Liotta is Lorca, an Alamo survivor seeking brutal revenge.

· Jeffrey Dean Morgan is “Deaf” Smith, a deaf and grizzled veteran Texas Ranger with an advanced case of consumption.

· Thomas Jane is James Wykoff, a homesteader who finds himself living in the middle of hostile Indian territory.

· Olivier Martinez is President General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the tyrant dictator of Mexico.

· Chad Michael Murray is Mirabeau Lamar, a spirited Texas soldier who helps win the battle of San Jacinto.

· Michael Rapaport is Sgt. Ephraim Knowles, a would-be deserter and coward turned hero.

· Max Thieriot is Jack Hays, a volunteer freedom fighter who becomes the youngest Texas Ranger.

“From Hatfields & McCoys to The Bible to Vikings, HISTORY has made a major commitment to high-quality scripted historical dramas,” said Dirk Hoogstra, Executive Vice President and General Manager, HISTORY & H2. “The Texas Revolution is one of the most gut-wrenching and inspirational events in our history. Doing the story justice will be a massive undertaking and we’re excited to begin production with one of the best teams in the business.”

“It’s exciting to be back working with HISTORY and Bill Paxton, a team that made television history with Hatfields & McCoys,” said Greif. “The battle for Texas independence was epic and really the battle for the future of America. We have Academy Award and Emmy-nominated talent, a stellar ensemble cast is being set, and with this team, we will seek to even further redefine and elevate the term ‘event television.’”

The Plot:

In 1836, if west of the Mississippi was considered the Wild West then Texas was hell on earth. Crushed from the outside by Mexican armadas and attacked from within by ferocious Comanche tribes – no one was safe. But this was a time of bravery, a time to die for what you believed in and a time to stand tall against the cruel rule of the Mexican General Santa Anna. From General Sam Houston, to rag tag Rangers to the legendary “Yellow Rose of Texas” – this is a story of the human spirit rising in the face of insurmountable odds and claiming a piece of history for all eternity.