PUPPETS WANT TO SUCK YOUR BLOOD IN AN ALL-NEW EPISODE OF "THE MIDDLEMAN"

Burbank, CA (July 28, 2008) � The Middleman and Wendy must take on fang bearing foes in "The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation," an all-new episode of "The Middleman," Monday, August 18 (10:00 � 11:00 PM ET/PT).

When artifacts from Vlad the Impaler go up for auction, Wendy and The Middleman prepare to acquire them all in effort to stop a possible vampire resurgence. But things go horribly awry when the last artifact, Vlad's beloved ventriloquist puppet Vladdy, takes over the soul of the auctioneer and gets away. Now The Middleman and Wendy must stop Vladdy from reuniting with his puppet bride and bringing on an eternal night of blood. Things only go from bad to worse when the demonic puppet learns about The Middleman's feelings for Lacey and uses her to force our hero to make a dangerous decision. Will Wendy be left on her own to face the unnatural wooden forces of evil or can The Middleman come up with a plan to save the world from vampire restoration and the woman he loves?

Meanwhile, when Noser mysteriously disappears, Lacey joins forces with Pip to track down their missing friend, much to The Middleman's chagrin.

"The Middleman" stars Matt Keeslar, Natalie Morales, Mary Pat Gleason, Brit Morgan and Jake Smollett.

The series is created and executive produced by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, based on his Viper Comics Graphic Novels (illustrated by Les McClaine). "The Middleman" is also executive produced by John Ziffren, co-executive produced by Hans Beimler, supervising producer Jeremiah Chechik, with producer Jon Pare, co-producer Sarah Watson and supervising producer Tracey Stern.