Disaster strikes the United States when a major earthquake hits the Pacific Northwest, causing major fault lines to start connecting and culminating in a catastrophe of epic proportions -- the West Coast begins to separate from the rest of the continent.
The earth-rattling miniseries -- named after a monstrous and destructive “10.5” quake that shatters the register on the noted Richter scale -- stars Kim Delaney (“NYPD Blue”) as Dr. Samantha Hill, an intellectual earthquake research scientist at a noted university in Washington State. Dr. Hill’s alternative theories -- which test the boundaries of current research -- and her take-charge attitude cause friction with her peers.
When the controversial Dr. Hill is ultimately put in charge, she is effectively entrusted with saving the entire population of the West Coast from a series of earthquakes that threaten to permanently fracture the West Coast from the rest of North America.
Bridges (“The Agency”) also stars as President Paul Hollister who along with Roy Nolan (Fred Ward, “Sweet Home Alabama”), Executive Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A) attempts to prevent the catastrophic natural disaster from shattering the Western seaboard.
Rounding out the cast are David Cubitt (“Robbery Homicide Division”) as Dr. Jordan Fisher, Hill’s supervisor and former boyfriend; Emmy nominee Dulé Hill (NBC’s “The West Wing”) and Ivan Sergei (NBC’s “Crossing Jordan”) as a pair of Los Angeles resident surgeons who struggle to save lives against a tidal wave of incoming patients. John Schneider (“Smallville”) and Kaley Cuoco (“8 Simple Rules”) also star respectively as the ex-husband and daughter of California Governor Carla Williams, who are trapped in the mountains in the wake of the initial quake that hits Southern California.
“10.5” is directed and co-written by John Lafia (“The Dead Zone,” “Child’s Play”) and is an Argosy-MAT IV production with Jaffe-Braunstein and in association with Pearl Pictures. The teleplay was written by Lafia, Ronnie Christensen (“Dark Angel”) and Chris Canaan (“The House on Turk Street”). Hallmark Entertainment will distribute the film.
