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ABC Family has ordered three new dramas to series – Alice in Arabia, Recovery Road and Unstrung for the network’s upcoming season. In addition, the network has renewed popular comedies Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy.
Tom Ascheim, President, ABC Family, and Kate Juergens, Chief Creative Officer and Executive Vice President, Original Content, ABC Family, yesterday announced that the network will continue to grow its slate of original programming with three new drama pilots, Alice in Arabia, Recovery Road and Unstrung. Ascheim also announced that ABC Family has given the greenlight to all-new seasons of its hit comedy series, Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy.
“These three powerful new dramas are a great fit with ABC Family’s brand of original programming known for diverse stories that challenge as well as entertain our viewers,” commented Ascheim. “We’re also delighted to produce more episodes of ‘Melissa & Joey’ and ‘Baby Daddy,’ two series that together have helped ABC Family establish a strong comedy block that continues to make our audience laugh out loud.”
Kate Juergens, Chief Creative Officer and Executive Vice President, Original Content, ABC Family, said “Innovative and authentic is the promise we make to our audience. These new projects deliver on that promise with emotional and entertaining storylines, intriguing, multi-faceted characters and complex relationships. We’re excited for what the future holds for these stories, and the fascinating worlds to which they’ll take us.”
Alice in Arabia is a high-stakes drama series about a rebellious American teenage girl who, after tragedy befalls her parents, is unknowingly kidnapped by her extended family, who are Saudi Arabian. Alice finds herself a stranger in a new world but is intrigued by its offerings and people, whom she finds surprisingly diverse in their views on the world and her situation. Now a virtual prisoner in her grandfather’s royal compound, Alice must count on her independent spirit and wit to find a way to return home while surviving life behind the veil. The pilot was written by Brooke Eikmeier, who previously served in the US Army as a Cryptologic Linguist in the Arabic language, trained to support NSA missions in the Middle East. She left service in September 2013 as a rank E-4 Specialist.
Based on the popular young adult novel by Blake Nelson, Recovery Road focuses on a teenage girl dealing with addiction. Maddie has a reputation as a party girl who doesn’t think she has a problem, until she’s confronted one day by her school guidance counselor and forced to choose between expulsion and rehab. Trying to save face, Maddie chooses to spend her nights living with other recovering addicts at a rehab facility, and her days pretending everything is perfectly normal among her high school classmates and her closest friends. The pilot was written by Bert V. Royal (“Easy A”) and Karen DiConcetto (“Ruby & The Rockits”). Beth Miller (“12 Dates of Christmas,” “Revenge of the Bridesmaids”) and Craig Piligian (“Survivor,” “American Chopper”) from Pilgrim Studios and Danielle VonZerneck (“Left to Die”) will serve as executive producers.
Unstrung explores the sexy, cutthroat, and emotional stakes of the professional world tour of tennis as brother and sister Luke and Ellie Holt compete to move up the ranks. The Holts may seem to have it all in a world where success is not only determined by prowess on the court, but by looks, charm and the ability to hide your faults under pressure from fans, critics, opponents, and even your closest allies. But a major family secret threatens to turn their lives, and their hard-earned family “brand,” upside down. Emily Whitesell (“Life Unexpected”) will executive produce.
“Melissa & Joey,” the hit comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, has been picked up for a fourth season, which will take the series to over a milestone 100 episodes. Hart plays Mel, a local politician raising her niece Lennox (Taylor Spreitler) and nephew Ryder (Nick Robinson) with the help of Joe (Lawrence), a financial whiz who took the job of running Mel’s household after Mel’s sister caused him to unfairly lose his job in a business scandal. In the series’ third season, the kids are grown and independent and Mel and Joe have decided to give in to their feelings and pursue a relationship with each other. “Melissa & Joey” is a half-hour multi-cam comedy executive-produced by David Kendall & Seth Kurland, Paula Hart, Melissa Joan Hart, Joey Lawrence and John Ziffren. Melissa Joan Hart (“Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”), Joey Lawrence (“Blossom”), Taylor Spreitler (“Days of Our Lives”) and Nick Robinson (“Jurassic World”) star. The series was created by David Kendall & Bob Young.
Also picked up for a fourth season, “Baby Daddy” follows five adults at various stages of growing up. Ben, who was living the bachelor life in New York City with his buddy, Tucker and his brother, Danny, a professional hockey player until his life was turned upside down when a baby girl was left on the doorstep by one of Ben’s one-night stands. Now in its third season, Ben is raising Baby Emma with support from Tucker, Danny, his mother, Bonnie and his childhood female friend, Riley, who is blissfully unaware that Danny has been in love with her for most of his life. The love triangle between Ben, Riley and Danny is still very prevalent, despite other relationships. Everyone is trying to figure out the next chapter in their lives and who they want to spend it with, but no one struggles with becoming an adult more than the over-the-top matriarch, Bonnie. “Baby Daddy” stars Jean-Luc Bilodeau (“Kyle XY”), Derek Theler (“90210”), Tahj Mowry (“The Game”) with Melissa Peterman (“Reba”) and Chelsea Kane (“Dancing with the Stars,” “Jonas LA”). The series is created and executive produced by Dan Berendsen (“The Nine Lives of Chloe King,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and “Hannah Montana: The Movie”).
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