Lifetime Television has greenlit the chilling new original miniseries, The Gathering, from the creative minds of David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) and John Shiban (The X Files), it was announced by Susanne Daniels, President, Entertainment, Lifetime Entertainment Services. The two-part, four-hour drama from Sony Pictures Television follows the story of Michael Foster, a doctor in search of his wife after she vanishes without a trace. Without any logical explanations for her disappearance, Michael's search leads him to dark and sinister findings, including the existence of a cabal of witches gathering in modern day New York. Tom Patricia (Lifetime's Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story) also serves as executive producer and Bill Eagles (CSI) will direct. The Gathering is Lifetime's second original miniseries, following in the footsteps of network's 2005 acclaimed highly rated drama Human Trafficking. Casting is currently underway for a fall premiere on Lifetime Television.

"It's great to be in business with David Eick and John Shiban who have created a truly unique and scary event for Lifetime," said Daniels. Adding, "The storytelling in The Gathering reminds us how unpredictable and unexplainable life can truly be."

"The scarier the real world gets, the more it seems we look to allegory to reflect our fears back at us. This is a very timely story, about how the people closest to you might be the ones you can trust the least," said executive producer David Eick.

Executive producer John Shiban added, "We wanted to take a horror staple -- witchcraft -- and give it a dose of reality and make television that scares because it feels real so I'm thrilled to be partnered with David and Lifetime as we try to apply the same reality ethos to the horror genre."

In The Gathering, Dr. Michael Foster wakes up after a disturbing night to find his wife Ann missing from their home. With the local police refusing to help and whispers in town believing Ann ran off with their daughter's teacher, Michael is left with only the puzzling visions he had the night of Ann's disappearance including a dying raven, a bloody circle on the wall and cryptic images of his wife and daughter.

As Michael attempts to uncover the mystery of her disappearance, he discovers Ann is involved with an ancient religious sect of witches determined to dominate the world, even resorting to murder to get what they want. But as Michael gets closer to finding his wife - and the truth - he discovers very powerful people are also involved and he quickly learns there is no one he can trust.