Layalina's Reality Television Series to Air on Largest Network in the Arab World

Layalina's Reality Television Series to Air on Largest Network in the Arab World

WASHINGTON and DUBAI MEDIA CITY, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 17
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Layalina Productions Inc. an American non-profit producer of Arabic- and English-language television programs, announced today that the first 12 half hour-episode season of its reality series, "Ala al Tariq fi Amrika" (On the Road in America) will premiere tomorrow on the leading pan-Arab free-to-air satellite network, Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC). The first episode will air in prime time on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 20:30 GMT (See air dates below for the first six episodes).

Created by Academy Award(R)-nominated and Emmy(R) award-winning producer Jerome Gary, "On the Road in America" features the exploits of three Arab university students on a 10-week odyssey across the United States. The series is made possible thanks to a generous grant from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation of Indiana. Targeted to a young Middle East and broader Muslim audience, the series focuses on Arab and American attitudes toward each other as seen through the eyes of the Arab students and the Americans whom they encounter in their journeys.

"It's been extremely exciting and rewarding to guide Layalina to this unprecedented breakthrough by bringing On the Road to the Arab world," said Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, Layalina's president. "We are looking forward to working with MBC Group to expand the much-needed cross-cultural awareness and understanding that this series represents," he added.

Fadi Ismail, general manager of O3 Productions, a subsidiary of MBC Group that assisted in producing the first season of the series, also expressed his enthusiasm for the project: "It was a fantastic opportunity to work with a group of highly professional and dedicated people such as the staff at Layalina. The culture of high quality programming is second to none, and we very much look forward to sharing 'On the Road in America' with our millions of viewers in all 22 Arab countries."

"What will make this series resonate is its authenticity," said "On the Road" creator, Director and Executive Producer Gary. An Academy Award- nominated filmmaker whose credits include "Pumping Iron," the award-winning Laughs series for HBO, and the Emmy-winning "The Russians" series, Gary, whose production company, Visionaire Media Inc. helped produce the series, also expressed that "the need for increased cross-cultural understanding between the United States and the Arab world has never been greater. I cannot think of a better vehicle to meet this need than through this series."

Ambassador Richard Fairbanks, Layalina's founder and chairman states, "Layalina's achievement in broadcasting an American-produced series on Arab television -- in their vernacular -- is a milestone that few thought possible. The U.S. private and non-profit sectors have an important role to play in public diplomacy, and I am proud that Layalina is helping lead the way."

Layalina is currently pursuing a domestic sale for the series through a distribution agreement with New Line Television Inc.

The broadcast dates of the first six episodes of the first season are as follows:

(Episodes premiere on Thursdays with repeats on Fridays)
Episode 1: 1/18/07 at 20:30 GMT, repeats on 1/19/07 at 2:30 GMT and 12:30
GMT
Episode 2: 1/25/07 at 20:30 GMT, repeats on 1/26/07 at 2:30 GMT and 12:30
GMT
Episode 3: 2/1/07 at 20:30 GMT, repeats on 2/2/07 at 2:30 GMT and 12:30
GMT
Episode 4: 2/8/07 at 20:30 GMT, repeats on 2/9/07 at 2:30 GMT and 12:30
GMT
Episode 5: 2/15/07 at 20:30 GMT, repeats on 2/16/07 at 2:30 GMT and 12:30
GMT
Episode 6: 2/22/07 at 20:30 GMT, repeats on 2/23/07 at 2:30 GMT and 12:30
GMT

About Layalina

Layalina Productions Inc. is a non-profit corporation based in Washington, D.C. Layalina was founded in March 2002 by Richard Fairbanks, the former chief U.S. negotiator for the Middle East Peace Process, to produce thoughtful Arabic- and English-language television programming for broadcast in the Arab Middle East. The corporation's Board of Counselors comprises former diplomats and officials, broadcasters and private sector executives from the United States. Layalina's educational, debate, entertainment and children's shows aim to strengthen existing bridges of mutual understanding between the U.S. and the Arab world and build new ones. Layalina's president, Marc Ginsberg, is a former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco. Layalina's Honorary Chairman is former President George H.W. Bush. To learn more about Layalina, visit http://www.layalina.tv/.

About MBC

MBC is the leading free-to-air, pan-Arab, news and entertainment broadcaster. MBC's guiding philosophy is to lead and innovate. Satellite transmission first started in September 1991, making MBC the first-ever independent Arabic satellite TV station and a market leader, delivering news and quality, family entertainment programming to more than 150 million Arabic speaking people around the world. MBC is constantly building on its core strengths to add new dimensions in an ever changing and competitive world of broadcast in the Middle East.

CONTACT: Marc Ginsberg, +1-202-778-1002, or Leon Shahabian, +1-202-775-3202, or information@layalina.tv, both of Layalina Productions.

Source: Layalina Productions Inc.

CONTACT: Marc Ginsberg, +1-202-778-1002, or Leon Shahabian,
+1-202-775-3202, or information@layalina.tv, both of Layalina Productions

Web site: http://www.layalina.tv/

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