VH1 Greenlights 7 New Series to Launch Third Night of Original Primetime Programming

VH1 Greenlights 7 New Series to Launch Third Night of Original Primetime Programming

Aggressive New Programming Initiative Marks Five Years of Consecutive Quarterly Growth Among VH1's Total Viewers

NEW YORK, June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- As VH1 approaches five years of consecutive quarterly growth, the music and pop culture network is announcing plans to launch a third night of original programming fueled by an aggressive and varied slate of 7 new series.

The upcoming projects run the gamut from improv series and documentaries to new twists on celebreality featuring female rap pioneers Salt N Pepa, models competing in another type of contest, pop culture revolutionaries, aspiring child stars mentored by Danny Bonaduce, ambitious fashion photographers, and two "golden girls" getting schooled on the latest in pop culture.

At the end of this month, VH1 will celebrate 20 consecutive quarters of growth among total viewers, largely on the strength of its original programming on Sunday and Monday nights. Such hits as "I Love New York" and "Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School" rank among the top 10 original series for basic cable for 2007.

Year-to-date, VH1's primetime ratings in the 18-49 demo are up 25%. VH1 also ranks as the #4 basic cable network in the key 18-49 demo on Monday nights and the #5 basic cable network on Sunday nights among 18-49 viewers. The network looks to expand its original offerings to an unprecedented third night beginning later this summer on Thursdays.

VH1 has also seen significant growth across platforms. Year-to-date, average monthly unique visits to and streams on VSPOT, VH1's broadband channel have increased 47% and 38%, respectively.

"Over the years, VH1 has been re-imagined for a generation that now consumes, comments on, reinterprets and reinvents our common music and pop culture touchstones," said Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group and President, Logo. "VH1's latest slate taps into this collective fascination, allowing the conversation to be extended on television and beyond."

"VH1's original shows often finished among the top 10 basic cable telecasts for the day this year. The time is right to build on our momentum and expand our programming assets in a primetime line-up that featured 90 percent original content this quarter," said Tom Calderone, Executive Vice President and General Manager, VH1. "This extensive list of new original projects will also appeal to our viewers on any platform they wish to enjoy them ... on television, on our broadband channel VSPOT, VH1.com or VH1 Mobile."

The new VH1 series, all slated for Q4 2007 or Q1 2008, include:

THE SALT 'N' PEPA SHOW (10 episodes)

Push It. Let's Talk About Sex. Shoop. Whatta Man. The songs are as legendary as this rap duo. Twelve million records sold. A first ever Grammy awarded to a female rap group for Best Rap Performance. Three MTV Video Music Awards. Then, in 2002, at the height of their success, Salt 'N Pepa suddenly called it quits. Rumors swirled that Salt had found God and Pepa wanted to pursue an acting career. Despite the speculation, the girls remained silent. Until now.

On "The Salt 'N Pepa Show," VH1 will follow the ladies as they attempt to reunite on and off the stage in this funny, often touching reality series. They soon discover however, that achieving this is easier said than done since most of their past issues are still unresolved. Salt is angry about being unappreciated when they were together and Pepa blames Salt for breaking up the group. Their lifestyles are also polar opposites: Salt has indeed found God and is living a quiet life in Long Island with her husband while Pepa is still the party girl and up for anything. Can they overcome their differences long enough to heal their friendship and perform again?

"The Salt 'N' Pepa Show" is executive produced by Banks Tarver and Ken Druckerman for Left/Right Inc. Michael Hirschorn, Shelly Tatro and Danielle Gelfand for VH1. Kari McFarland is supervising producer for VH1.

AMERICA'S MOST SMARTEST MODEL (10 episodes)

Beauty is a double-edged sword. It seems to be a commonly accepted notion in today's world that an inverse proportion exists between brains and beauty -- the prettier someone is, the less intelligent they are expected to be. And no one has it worse than models. But is this assumption really true? Do smart models exist, or does a life devoted to getting by on one's looks make a person stupid? Now, VH1 will attempt to answer this burning question in "America's Most Smartest Model." Hosted by celebrity fashion expert Mary Alice Stephenson and Emmy Award winner Ben Stein, this reality competition series brings together fourteen models, (7 men, 7 women) all of whom think they are the perfect combination of beauty and brains. In every episode the 'himbos' and 'bimbos' will face challenges that put both their overall intelligence and beauty to the test. In the end, only one model will prove that they are more than just another pretty face and take home a $100,000 prize and the coveted title of "America's Most Smartest Model."

"America's Most Smartest Model," is executive produced by Cris Abrego of 51 Pictures and Mark Cronin of Mindless Entertainment. Jeff Olde, Kristen Kelly, Jill Holmes, Alex Demyanenko, Stella Stolper and Michael Hirschorn are executive producers for VH1.

CLICK! (8 episodes)

From the producer of "America's Next Top Model" and "Pussycat Dolls Presents: The Search for the Next Doll," "Click!" will give 10 amateur photographers the chance to live out their wildest fantasies in pursuit of their ultimate dream: to become the next great fashion photographer. Our cast will live and work together in a downtown L.A. loft while being guided by world-renowned fashion photographer Russell James. These aspiring photographers will embark on a series of photo shoots meant to challenge their creativity and expose their individual weaknesses. For the first time in their lives, the cast will work with supermodels and high-end professionals, while traveling to exotic locations -- all to capture that one perfect shot. Whether it's shooting on the deck of a schooner in the midst of a storm, or trying to get a supermodel to cuddle up to a Siberian tiger, our cast will face daunting tasks and obstacles that will test their talent, desire and drive to be the next great fashion photographer.

"Click!" is executive produced by Ken Mok for 10 X 10 Entertainment. Jim Ackerman is executive producer for VH1.

DANNY BONADUCE'S CHILD STAR -- tentative title (8 episodes)

In a world gone mad with delusional stage moms and money hungry agents, only one man knows how to save the endangered species known as the child star. "Danny Bonaduce's Child Star" (tentative title) challenges Danny Bonaduce to seek out one great, aspiring, triple threat stage-hungry kid, identify them as a star, and train their driven stage mom or dad to be a supportive and fit parent who won't end up driving their kid into rehab. Over the course of 8 hour-long episodes both kids and parents will participate in challenges to see if they have what it takes to make it in Hollywood. The kids will need to have talent and the parents will need to have the smarts to navigate Hollywood without ruining their child's career.

"Danny Bonaduce's Child Star" is executive produced by Danny and Gretchen Bonaduce. JD Roth, Todd Nelson, Adam Greener are executive producers for 3 Ball Productions and Michael Hirschorn, Jeff Olde and Claire McCabe are executive producers for VH1.

FREE RADIO (8 episodes)

"Free Radio" is a half-hour improvised comedy where the worlds of celebrity, mediocrity and talk radio collide. It is a comedic, behind-the- scenes look at a struggling Los Angeles radio station and its dysfunctional staff, led by Lance, the dimwitted, laughably ignorant, yet inexplicably popular host of "Moron in the Morning." Celebrity guests from film, television, music and stage join Lance every week in the booth as they promote their latest projects while enduring his clueless questions and oblivious take on the world. Lance is played by improv comedian Lance Krall ("The Joe Schmo Show").

"Free Radio" is executive produced by Lance Krall and Rory Rosegarten. Jim Ackerman is executive producer for VH1 and Mike Riley, senior producer for VH1.

LORDS OF THE REVOLUTION (7 episodes)

They questioned authority. They celebrated nonconformity. They dared to be different. VH1's new documentary series "Lords of the Revolution" profiles the nonconformist heroes -- and anti-heroes -- of the 60s and 70s, honoring those icons who challenged social, political and cultural institutions of the time. Edgy, colorful and visually dynamic, each hour-long episode will tell the compelling story of a visionary who -- through music, art, social change or politics -- influenced popular culture in a way that it is still felt today.

"Lords of the Revolution" is executive produced by Michael Hirschorn, Brad Abramson and Shelly Tatro for VH1. Supervising producers are Stephen Mintz and Ted Kim for VH1.

OLD SKOOL WITH TERRY AND GITA (5 Episodes)

It's The Golden Girls meets Borat! "Old Skool with Terry and Gita" is a half-hour weekly series starring Terry Moore and Gita Hall as they explore the hottest topics in pop culture. Terry Moore, 77, a movie star from the studio days and ex-wife of billionaire Howard Hughes, and Gita Hall, 72, one of the world's first supermodels, have an unquenchable thirst for life. Terry and Gita are on a mission to explore all the weird and wonderful "subcultures" normally reserved for people far younger than their demographic proving it's never too late to get "skooled." From hip hop to the gay community, the two ladies are committed to discovering what's hip and happening today. Their fish-out-of-water immersion into those worlds is often revelatory, sometimes shocking and always hilarious.

"Old Skool with Terry and Gita" is executive produced by Jon Murray and Jeff Jenkins for Bunin/Murray Productions and Grant Cramer for Moore/Cramer Productions. Michael Hirschorn, Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes and Jenn Levy serve as executive producers for VH1.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 90 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul and VSPOT, VH1's broadband channel. Connect with VH1 at http://www.vh1.com/.

VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

Press Contacts:
Tracy McGraw/VH1 Scott Acord/VH1 Maura Wozniak/VH1
212/846-7879 310/752-8075 212/846-7325

Source: VH1

CONTACT: Tracy McGraw, +1-212-846-7879; Scott Acord, +1-310-752-8075;
Maura Wozniak, +1-212-46-7325, all of VH1

Web site:

http://www.vh1.com/

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