CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- "The Surreal Life" is moving from the WB to VH1 as the cable channel has picked up the series for a third season of 10 episodes.

Casting is already underway on the new season, which as expected will have a more music-themed focus, for a fall 2004 premiere date.

The announcement was made yesterday via press release:

VH1 GETS SURREAL AS �THE SURREAL LIFE� MAKES ITS THIRD SEASON DEBUT ON THE NETWORK

�The Surreal Life� moves into a third season on VH1.

VH1 along with series producers Mark Cronin and Cris Abrego have agreed to produce a third season of this successful celebrity-based series that chronicles the lives and adventures of six unlikely celebrities, living together in a Hollywood mansion for an extended period.

�The Surreal Life� comes to VH1 from the WB where it broke ratings records in its second season. The third season of �The Surreal Life� will consist of ten episodes and is set to premiere during third quarter on VH1.

�We�ve been fans of �The Surreal Life� since the first episode and couldn�t be more thrilled that the series is coming to VH1,� said Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV/VH1. ��The Surreal Life� has already proven to have all the unique elements of a winning pop culture experiment - great storytelling with iconic personalities and lots of surprises. The series fits perfectly into the VH1 line-up.�

�Cris and I are ecstatic about our new home at VH1. Our show is a reality sitcom that celebrates celebrity and Brian Graden has expressed his desire to back our creative vision.� comments series producer Mark Cronin.

The first season of �The Surreal Life� featured such incredible pairings as Gabrielle Carteris, M.C. Hammer, Vince Neil, Corey Feldman, Emmanuel Lewis, Jeri Manthey and Brande Roderick; while the second season featured Traci Bingham, Ron Jeremy, Tammy Faye Baker, Trishelle Cannatella, Erik Estrada and Vanilla Ice. Casting for the third season is underway.

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 over 86 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno, VH1 Mega Hits and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at 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.