The truce is broken during an encounter between Gilboan and Gathian troops. King Silas appears in person to defuse the situation. Sheppard’s trip to Shiloh is cancelled by him when he sees a sign held by someone in the accompanying crowd saying “don’t go.” We learn, during a conversation with his detained predecessor some unpleasant details of Silas’ rise to power. Silas has a long conversation with Sheppard about his romance with the princess, during which Silas decides that Sheppard is trustworthy after all and cancels the assassination plans, almost not soon enough. Silas has a sit-down with the Gath military commander. Turns out that Gath doesn’t want a truce either, their people are envious of Gilboa’s economic success, in particular the development of Shiloh. In a surprise move, Silas offers Shiloh to them, telling them to improve on it. Tune in next Sunday.

Reporting From
West Hollywood, California
It looks like many other prime time soap operas (intrigue, power struggles, sex) but this one is set in the modern day "mythical" Royal Kingdom of Gilboa. The kingdom is at war, and young David Shepherd rises in the military to become a new national hero - one who gives hope to the people
Read More at Our NBC Site www.royalkindomofgilboa.com Or Our Sister Site www.royalkingdomofgilboa.net

Reporting From
West Hollywood, California
"Kings" is a period drama based on the life of King David, the biblical king of Israel. "Kings" is the story of David Shepherd, an idealistic soldier who is thrust into the heart of power by one act of heroism. After single-handedly defeating the enemies of his people, David is rewarded by being brought into the court of King Silas, monarch of the modern nation of Gilboa.

David is initially dazzled by the pageantry and glamour of life among the royals, only to learn that the palace is teeming with deception. The young hero soon becomes a target for the deadly schemes of those vying for control of the kingdom. But he finds support from a beautiful princess, the king's own daughter... and their forbidden romance will launch David on a daring path to adventure.

As the line between friends and enemies blurs, David must survive the treacherous corridors of power and forge a new destiny that will forever change the world.

"Kings" takes place in a modern-day kingdom named Gilboa, and its shining metropolitan capital of Shiloh. It is ruled by King Benjamin Silas, the nation’s much-loved monarch, who unified several warring territories to found Gilboa many years ago. They have since built a proud and prosperous nation. While not a perfect society, the kingdom is a beacon of hope and idealism.

But the dark clouds of war continue to rumble in the north, where the forces of enemy nation Gath are massing to invade, and threaten to destroy all that King Silas has created...

That is, until a young soldier named David slays a fearsome Goliath tank, rallying the nation... and turning the tide of history.

Reporting From
Hollywood, California
Kings is an upcoming TV series coming to NBC, based on the David vs. Goliath story set in the modern day. The series is set in the modern day metropolis of Shiloh, a city under siege where the fighting has gone on for too long and cost far too many lives. When David Shepherd (Christopher Egan), a brave young soldier, rescues the king's (Ian McShane) son from enemy territory, he sets events in motion that will finally bring peace. Suddenly, David is thrust into the limelight, earning the affections of women, including the king's daughter. When he's promoted to captain, he becomes the reluctant poster boy for hope. But for David, the line between his allies and enemies will blur as the power players in the kingdom go to great lengths to see him fall and there's no telling who will win. The series is scheduled to premiere March 19, and will air on Thursdays at 10pm. It is being filmed partially at the Apthorp building in New York City, on Broadway between 78th and 79th streets. An early review of Green's pilot script was called "bold, bizarre, fun.

Reporting From
Hollywood, California

What and where is the The Royal Kingdom of Gilboa?
is a fictional country featured in the NBC series Kings, which premieres March 19th, 2009 at 10 pm. The show stars Ian McShane, who received a Golden Globe for Best Actor in 2005 on the HBO series Deadwood.

Meant to read a few pages of the pilot script for NBC's midseason series "Kings" and ended up finishing the 73-page draft in one sitting.

Very well written script by Michael Green (episodes of "Heroes," "Everwood") recasts the Biblical story of King David in modern times. Sort of. The “Kings” universe is essentially the United States, only ruled by a corporate-backed monarchy. This wildly fictional setting is the show’s greatest challenge -- to not let the strangeness of its parallel world distract viewers from its story and characters.

The casting of Ian McShane as the country's beloved ruler, King Silas, is perfect, and one wonders if some of his dialog was rewritten once he was brought on board.

"Speak in riddles, Reverend, you’re liable never to get your point across," Silas growls, and one can hear that regal "Deadwood" thug Al Swearengen.

The story (skip this graph to avoid general outline spoilers) tells of a noble young solider, David, who rescues the king’s son from captivity in a foreign land (slaying a high-tech Goliath is involved). Declared a hero, David is brought home to the king’s palace, falls for a goodhearted princess, alienates the king’s ambitious heir and is thrust into a web of rival agendas. Clearly, Green is keeping the story beats traditional here, which helps offset the oddness of the setting.

As always with any trade publication’s anything, our big question comes down to performance. Will "Kings" work? Will it pull ratings?

No clue.

Execution here is just too key. Mixing business suits and crowns in an alternative universe Lower Manhattan is not a venture for the faint of heart. The whole escapade could easily be rendered hokey, or with a lot of skill and a grown-up budget, become brilliant. To pull it off, NBC has tapped feature film director Francis Lawrence -- "I Am Legend," "Constantine" -- to helm the pilot.

Regardless of the result, hats off to NBC, which has been knocked by critics for greenlighting some all-too-familiar ideas, for giving this script a go (Kevin Reilly reportedly passed on it; Ben Silverman snatched it up).

After all, if you're gonna throw the dice on a story, you want to go big with PlayStation-loving battlefield soldiers mixed with Biblical allegory mixed with deadly corporate courtesan intrigue.

Looking forward to seeing how "Kings" turns out.

CFO Big Media Excitement
Jack Johnsen
The Kings Fan Club A Worldwide service for The Royal Kingdom of Gilboa fans

Reporting From
Hollywood, California
Christopher Egan is going to be a Huge Star!
A native of Sydney, Australia, Chris Egan attended Sydney's MacDonald College of the Performing Arts where he honed his acting skills. His performances in Les Miserables and West Side Story at Sydney's Zenith Theatre displayed his bright future as an actor and in 1999, at the age of 16, he was cast in the successful Australian series Home and Away. He portrayed popular character Nick Smith for over three years. In 2003, Egan moved to Los Angeles to advance his acting career. His U.S. television debut was in the miniseries 'Empire', followed by significant roles in the independent film 'Alpha Male' and the feature 'Virgin Territory' with Hayden Christensen and Mischa Barton. He also appeared in 'Resident Evil: Extinction' and in 20th Century Fox's 'Eragon'. In 2006 he appeared in the Fox television series, 'Vanished' and followed this with the FX pilot 'Pretty Handsome'. In 2008 Chris starred in the Australian feature thriller 'Crush' and is currently in production on the UMS/NBC drama series,'Kings'.

Susanna Thompson (Once & Again) plays Queen Rose Benjamin; Allison Miller (Lucy’s Piano) stars as King Silas’ outspoken daughter Michelle.

From Universal Media Studios, Kings is executive-produced by Green, Erwin Stoff (I Am Legend) and Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend), who also directed the pilot
Pictured: Christopher Egan as David Shepherd — © 2008 NBC Universal, Inc. Photo: Eric Liebowitz.

Kings drama coming to NBC in early 2009

From executive producer Michael Green (NBC’s Heroes) comes a new drama about a modern day monarchy, Kings, scheduled to debut on NBC in early 2009, though an exact date hasn’t been announced.

Kings is an epic story of greed and power, war and romance, forbidden loves and secret alliances – a classic David and Goliath tale.

King Silas Benjamin (Ian McShane, Deadwood) is the king of Gilboa. Silas must deal with tensions rising between Gilboa and neighboring nation Gath. When several prisoners of war are taken, a young soldier named David Shepard (Christopher Egan, Eragon) defies orders and crosses enemy lines to save them. Unknown to David, the soldier he saves is Jack Benjamin (Sebastian Stan, The Covenant), the son of the king. From this day forth, David’s life will never be the same.