T Stands for TV Land as Mr. T's New Original Series, I Pity The Fool, Premieres on the Network on October 11

T Stands for TV Land as Mr. T's New Original Series, I Pity The Fool, Premieres on the Network on October 11

I Pity The Fool Content Available on Multiple Screens Via TVLand.com, Yahoo!, Sprint and iTunes

NEW YORK, Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Prepare to experience Reali-T TV when Mr. T's new original series, I Pity The Fool, premieres on TV Land on October 11 at 10pm (ET/PT). Watch out Dr. Phil and move over Oprah, Mr. T is on a mission to change people's lives by dispensing his own brand of advice in classic T-style in every city with fools to pity. I Pity The Fool is produced by Lionsgate, in association with Left/Right Films and Remag Guerilla. The first episode will also air on Nick at Nite on October 11 at 11pm (ET/PT).

I Pity The Fool features this classic TV icon in a role that he is very comfortable with -- #1 Jibba Jabba Attacka. Whether he's teaching fools some basic rules or being a motivator for procrastinators, Mr. T becomes immersed in the situation at-hand and becomes a catalyst for change.

The full series rollout -- and Mr. T's missions -- include:

October 11:

Mr. T takes on a group of fast-talking salesmen at a car dealership in New York City. However, the problems start at the top with an owner that is a micromanager who refuses to delegate to his son-in-law who he has appointed manager of the dealership. But family feuds aren't the only knock in the engine, as Mr. T also goes head-to-head with a slippery car salesman while teaching everyone at the dealership a lesson about MO-T-VATION.

October 18:

In this episode, Mr. T visits the Abato family. Frank Abato loves his job at a sewage treatment plant almost as much as his beloved easy chair. In fact, when he comes home, he sits down in his chair and refuses to budge. His wife and children are sick of Frank's lazy ways and his stinky clothes. They want to get him on his feet and back into their lives. Mr. T's mission: to bring this family some UNI-T!

October 25:

Tough love and straight talk are in order as Mr. T is called in to motivate the staff of Metrostar Realty. The problem is that this team of agents and brokers just can't seem to work together -- bickering and catfighting consume a good chunk of the workday. And the owner's laissez- faire management style only makes matters worse! Mr. T's mission: to teach this office a lesson about LEADERSHIP.

November 1:

Mr. T brings tough talk and tenderness to the parents and children at East Coast Dance School. Leann is a great dance teacher, but she's also a control freak with a serious temper. And the stage moms? They drive Leann crazy with their incessant nagging and bickering. Mr. T will need to resolve this conflict, or else the big dance recital will be a flop! His mission: to bring these ladies some TRUST.

November 8:

A family farm is Mr. T's destination in this episode of I Pity The Fool. Mr. T saddles up to train wild horses with Ron and Sue Layden, but breaking horses is a lot easier than controlling their four teenage sons. The boys refuse to do chores, they talk back to their parents, and roll around in the mud with their pigs! Mr. T needs to teach the Layden boys a thing or two about RESPECT.

November 15

This episode takes Mr. T out of the frying pan and into the fire, as he tries to fix the problems at La Spezia Restaurant. Chef Ed is a great cook, but he has a terrible temper ... he even yells at his customers! Mike, the owner, tries to help but he just ends up making things worse. Meanwhile, the dining room is empty. Mr. T's mission: save La Spezia by teaching Ed and Mike about COMMUNICATION.

Fans will be able to get their T-fix on any screen they may favor. The I Pity The Fool multi-platform viewing experience includes:

TVLand.com: Immediately following the premiere of the show, at 10:30pm ET on October 11, fans will be able to interact with Mr. T himself in a live video chat on the site. Then, the next morning, the full episode will be available on TVLand.com. Each subsequent episode will also be available the day after it premieres on-air. Additional TVLand.com content for I Pity The Fool includes bonus material from the series including behind-the-scenes footage that can't be seen anywhere else as well as an exclusive interview with the icon himself. Users can watch previews of the next episode and send a Mr. T-Mail message -- video e-cards for birthdays, special occasions or for friends in need of some mo-T-vation! Fans will also have access to "Rules for Fools" -- video clips of Mr. T dispensing advice on finances, dating, hygiene, listening and more.

Yahoo! TV: The premiere installment of I Pity The Fool is available exclusively on Yahoo! TV (http://tv.yahoo.com/) through October 11, the day of the show's on-air premiere. Additionally, Yahoo! TV will feature exclusive clips from the series including a lost scene from the first episode as well as two "Rules for Fools" on finding success and public speaking.

Sprint: Sprint customers with select multimedia phones can access special "Rules for Fools" as well as highlights from upcoming episodes from the series. The content will be available at no additional charge on channel 24 on Sprint TV. Standard data charges apply.

iTunes: Beginning October 19, the first two episodes of I Pity The Fool will be available for purchase on iTunes Music Store. After that, a new episode will be available for purchase every Thursday after the show's Wednesday night premiere.

Podcasts: Highlights from the premiere episode are currently available as free podcasts on iTunes, with sneak peeks from upcoming episodes available each week.

Executive producers for I Pity The Fool are Ken Druckerman (Growing Up Gotti), Stephen Belafonte (Thank You for Smoking, Never Die Alone) and Banks Tarver (Growing Up Gotti).

The deal for Mr. T was brokered by The Buchwald Agency.

Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, winning this year's Best Picture Academy Award(R) for Crash, generating two consecutive years of $300 million-plus domestic theatrical box office, operating a $500 million-plus home entertainment business and producing a broad slate of prime time television series for fiscal 2007. It is a premier producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of more than 9,000 titles is a valuable source of stable, recurring revenue and a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

TV Land and all related logos and titles are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

TV Land Productions was created in 2003 to develop original programming that complements the network's successful acquired programming slate. TV Land Productions has also produced The TV Land Awards Show: A Celebration of Classic TV (March 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006), the Emmy-nominated The Dick Van Dyke Show, Revisited, the network's first original special for broadcast, which premiered on CBS in May 2004, the Emmy-nominated Still Brady ... After All These Years reunion special in September 2004 and Chasing Farrah (Spring 2005), the original reality series that followed iconic Hollywood actress and sex symbol Farrah Fawcett. Over the last year, the network premiered a variety of original series and specials including: TV Guide and TV Land Present: The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments, Living in TV Land, TV Land Confidential and Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg. For more information about TV Land's original Wednesday night line-ups, visit http://www.tvland.com/.

Now seen in over 87 million U.S. homes, TV Land's program mix features popular dramas, sitcoms, westerns, Retromercials and a TV-referential interstitial environment, all programmed with a specific audience in mind -- the first generation of Americans to grow up watching television and features all-time Classic hits like All in the Family, I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, and Bonanza.

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

About Viacom

Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company, with prominent and respected brands in focused demographics. Offering programming and content for television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom's world- class brands include MTV Networks (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and more than 130 networks around the world), BET Networks, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, DreamWorks and Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at http://www.viacom.com/.

Source: TV Land

CONTACT: Rachel Sandler, +1-212-846-4412, Rachel.Sandler@tvland.com, or
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