ABC Family Spawns Series and Specials
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 4/22/2007 6:00:00 PM MT
New York — New York— Coming off its best-ever quarter, ABC Family is looking to extend that momentum to all seasons behind an expansive slate of series and specials.
ABC Family — which attracted 1.1 million viewers on average in primetime in the first three months of 2007, matching numbers rang up during the same period in 2002 and 2005 — will tee up a host of new and returning shows from June through September. Then, it’ll ratchet up Halloween and Christmas stunts in the fourth quarter.
Network president Paul Lee, speaking at an upfront presentation for the press here Friday, outlined plans that commence in June with the second seasons of guilty pleasure series Falcon Beach and top-rated ABC Family original entry Kyle XY.
Lee said that during Kyle’s 13-episode sophomore campaign, viewers will find the mysterious, bellybutton-less teenage savant “is no longer alone.” ABCFamily.com will back the show with a three-part online interactive initiative, of which “Countdown to Kyle XY” has already begun.
Come July, ABC Family will launch the first of two new series. Greek, a 10-episode show set to debut in July, examines collegiate life as an ensemble cast of students navigate the social minefield that is the fraternity-sorority system at a fictional university.
Beginning May 14, ABCFamily.com will host a “Virtual Rush” Web site that invites viewers to “rush” fictional “houses” by uploading photos, videos and creating their own online profiles.
Angel-mythology limited series Fallen returns in August. Also that month, ABC Family will introduce its first primetime cartoon, Slacker Cats, following the underachieving adventures of felines Buckley and Eddie.
Bridging originals from summer to fall, ABC Family — which targets the millennial generation, or the 83 million Americans born between 1977 and 1996 — will premiere a 10-episode second season of Lincoln Heights in September. The Sutton family had made their way back to the father and policeman’s old neighborhood for the first time this past January.
In October, the network’s “13 Nights of Halloween” stunt will include a new original telefilm — one of 10 the network has commissioned — titled Nature of the Beast, in which boy meets and falls in love with girl, then turns into werewolf. A new acquisition, the Tom Bergeron-hosted version of America’s Funniest Home Videos, also hits the net’s air that month.
The network’s annual “25 Days to Christmas” marathon includes a pair of new made-for-TV movies, Snow Globe and Holiday in Handcuffs. A Harry Potter weekend and the basic-cable premiere of The Incredibles are also in the plans. And coming in January: the fourth-season debut of Wildfire, in production in New Mexico. Lead by an 11-day countdown gambit in November, ABC Family next year will also add acquired That ’70s Show episodes on a non-exclusive basis, Lee said.
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I love wilfire. Great cast and stories every episode. Keep the seasons...
Ashley oliver - 2007-1-5 18:55:00
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