Chris writes: I thought you would want to see below for the Sean Astin news.

‘Jeremiah’ Returns to Showtime for Second Season Friday, October 10 At 10:00

Series Stars Luke Perry, Malcolm-Jamal Warner

Sean Astin Joins the Cast

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ — SHOWTIME will premiere the second season of the sci-fi adventure drama series JEREMIAH on Friday, October 10 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT). With 15 new episodes, the series has added Sean Astin (“The Lord of the Rings” “Staying Together”) to the cast. JEREMIAH stars Luke Perry in the title role, who rose to international fame as the brooding Dylan McKay in the television and cultural phenomenon that was “Beverly Hills, 90210”.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner (“The Cosby Show”) stars in the series as “Kurdy”, Jeremiah’s friend and partner in his quest to forge a new world order out of the chaos of a post-apocalyptic future. The series, from MGM Television Entertainment, is created for television by sci-fi icon J. Michael Straczynski, creator and executive producer of “Babylon 5”. Luke Perry, also serves as executive producer on JEREMIAH.

In the new season, Sean Astin, known for his role as Samwise Gamgee in “The Lord of the Rings” hit motion picture trilogy, will play a colorful character named “Mr. Smith”, who teams up with Jeremiah and Kurdy to forge new alliances in the hope of building a brave new world.

The series is set in a future post-apocalyptic world where, 20 years before, a deadly virus wiped out the world’s adult population, sparing only those who hadn’t reached puberty. Now, the oldest survivors of the “Big Death” must struggle to create a civilization out of the chaos that was left to them when the adult population was wiped out, along with the majority of society’s collective knowledge.

During the first season, Jeremiah (Perry) sought to locate a mysterious place called Valhalla, which his father had claimed might hold some hope for the survivors. This personal quest was redirected when he met up with the loner and opportunist named Kurdy (Warner). Together, they discovered a group of highly organized survivors at a technologically advanced military facility called Thunder Mountain. It was there that Jeremiah and Kurdy were enlisted to orchestrate peace among the warring factions that often roamed the countryside or squatted in abandoned towns, and to work towards preventing the killer virus from returning.

As the second season opens, Jeremiah has been separated from Kurdy in the aftermath of a struggle with forces from the Valhalla Sector. He is being held in captivity and is about to be reunited with his father — a mysterious figure he thought long dead, and who holds the answers to many secrets about Jeremiah’s world.

JEREMIAH is based on Platinum Studios’ comic book-to-film adaptation based on the award-winning comic book by Belgian author Hermann Huppen. The series is being produced by Jeremiah Productions Inc. in association with Lion’s Gate Television and Platinum Studios and is distributed by MGM Worldwide Television Distribution.

Straczynski serves as show runner and executive producer, alongside Grant Rosenberg who has produced and written for “The Outer Limits” and “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.” The executive producers also include Luke Perry, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (who developed the hit film “Men In Black”) and Ervin Rustemagic.

MGM Television Entertainment handles television development and production for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. Its series lineup includes the smash off-beat dramedy Dead Like Me; Fame, MGM’s successful foray in reality programming showcasing the ultimate talent search; the hit syndicated action-adventure series She Spies; the popular post-apocalyptic drama Jeremiah; the award-winning, critically acclaimed series Stargate SG-1 and The Outer Limits; and The L Word, the forthcoming ground-breaking drama. For more information on MGM, visit MGM Online at http://www.mgm.com/.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc., owns the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME(R) TOO(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE(R) and TMC xtra.

SNI also offers SHOWTIME HDTV(R), SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(R) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI operates and manages the premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL(R), which is owned by SNI, Robert Redford and Universal Studios. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME(R) PPV.

Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME EXTREME(R) is available in Spain through a joint venture with Media Park and the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.

BIOS

LUKE PERRY (Jeremiah/Executive Producer) — Prior to taking on the dual roles of star and executive producer for JEREMIAH, Luke Perry made his Broadway debut as Brad Majors in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” In recent years, he appeared in feature films including “Fogbound” and the spy thriller “The Enemy,” opposite Roger Moore. His television credits include the miniseries “Johnson County War,” the TBS thriller “The Triangle,” and an eight-episode run as the Reverend Jeremiah Clouthier on the series “OZ” for which he received rave reviews.

During his years on “Beverly Hills 90210,” Perry appeared in several independent films and major studio productions. These included Columbia’s “Fifth Element,” the SHOWTIME Original Picture “RIOT,” “Normal Life”, and “American Strays.” He also co-starred with Chris Penn, Michael Madsen and Mary Stuart Masterson in “The Florentine.” Perry made his feature film debut in the starring role of real-life champion bull rider Lane Frost in “8 Seconds,” which he also co-produced.

MALCOLM-JAMAL WARNER (Kurdy) — An Emmy(R)-nominated child actor for his regular role on “The Cosby Show,” Malcolm-Jamal Warner has matured as an actor but has also received accolades in several new creative ventures: directing, playing bass for his band Miles Long, Performance Poetry gigs and civic-minded advocacy appearances.

His theater credits include “Cryin’ Shame,” “Freefall” at the Victory Garden Theatre in Chicago, the off-Broadway play “Three Ways Home,” at the Astor Place Theatre, and in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the La Jolla Playhouse.

A seasoned director, Warner was the resident helmer as well as star on “Malcolm and Eddie.” He also directed episodes of “The Cosby Show,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “All That,” and a host of music videos. His film short “This Old Man” received critical acclaim on the festival circuit. Additional directing credits include the Saturday morning teen magazine “All Ax-S,” featuring Jaleel White and Kriss Cross, Nickelodeon’s “Keenan and Kel” and the AIDS awareness video “Timeout: The Truth about HIV, Aids and YOU.” The video, which starred Magic Johnson and Arsenio Hall, earned Warner the NAACP Key of Life Image Award.

Always civic-minded, Warner has been involved in several programs that reach out to the community. He hosted the Emmy Award(R)-winning “Kids Killing Kids” and directed “Teen Files: Truth About Violence.” Warner recently appeared at the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in a theatrical production of his Performance Poetry entitled “Love And Other Social Issues.”

SEAN ASTIN (Mister Smith) — Sean Astin, currently appearing in “The Lord of the Rings,” began his acting career at the age of nine, appearing opposite his mother Patty Duke in the ABC after school special, “Please Don’t Hit Me, Mom.” As a teen actor, he appeared in “Toy Soldiers,” “The War of the Roses,” and “The Goonies” among others. His more recent credits include “The Long Way Home,” “Courage Under Fire,” “Rudy,” and the SHOWTIME Original Picture “HARRISON BERGERON.”

In 1994, Astin produced and directed the Academy Award(R) nominated short film “Kangaroo Court.” More recently, he directed “On My Honor” and, while filming the “Rings” trilogy in New Zealand, he directed the documentary short, “The Long and Short of It.”