ABC FAMILY ANNOUNCES SECOND SEASON ORDER OF THE ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SERIES �WILDFIRE� FROM LIONS GATE TELEVISION
PRODUCTION ON 13 ONE-HOUR EPISODES TO BEGIN THIS FALL
Burbank, CA (August 15, 2005) � ABC Family has picked up a second season of the original drama series, WILDFIRE, it was announced today by Paul Lee, president, ABC Family. A total of 13 one-hour episodes will be produced for the second season order with production set to begin this fall in New Mexico. The drama, produced by Lions Gate Television in association with Piller� and The Segan Company, centers on the struggles of a young woman (played by newcomer Genevieve Cortese) to turn her life around. The series also stars veteran actor Dennis Weaver ("McCloud"), Greg Serano (�Kingpin�), Nana Visitor (�Star Trek: Deep Space Nine�), Micah Alberti ("All My Children"), Andrew Hoeft, James Read, Ryan Sypek and Nicole Tubiola.
"We are thrilled to be renewing WILDFIRE," said Lee. "WILDFIRE has done tremendously well for us, drawing in key demos week after week and serving as a great launching pad for BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE. Gen Cortese is fabulous in the lead � our audiences just love this show."
�ABC Family has been a perfect home for this series,� said Kevin Beggs, president, programming and production, Lions Gate Television. �We�re very proud of the show and appreciate the tremendous support we�ve received from the network.�
The series continues to deliver strong ratings for its seventh original episode; posting its best numbers since week two with a 1.6 HH rating and 2.0 million total viewers. Season-to-date, WILDFIRE has increased its time period delivery double and triple digits, versus year-ago in all key demos. The series increased 100% in HH rating (1.6 vs. 0.8), 96% in total viewers (1,935,000 vs. 986,000), 75% with Adults 18-34 (0.7 vs. 0.4), 50% with Adults 18-49 (0.6 vs. 0.4), and 167% with teens 12-17 (2.4 vs. 0.9).
WILDFIRE follows eighteen-year-old Kris Furillo (Cortese) who, after serving time at a juvenile detention center, is given the opportunity to start a new life. Her talent with horses is recognized by a volunteer and local trainer (Serano), who arranges a job for her at the Ritter's family run ranch.
WILDFIRE is produced by Lions Gate Television in association with Piller� and The Segan Company. Michael Piller (�The Dead Zone,� "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), Lloyd Segan (�The Dead Zone,� "The Bachelor," "Boondock Saints," "Bones") and Marjorie David (�Dark Angel,� �Chicago Hope�) serve as executive producers.
Lions Gate Television is the television production and distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF). With a total of five series currently on the air, the company is continuing its strategy of being an important supplier of content to cable and broadcast networks. Lions Gate Entertainment is the premier independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library is a valuable source of stable and recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the continued growth of the Company�s core businesses. The Lions Gate brand name is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
Distributed in over 88 million homes, ABC Family features original movies, series and specials. Programming that is reflective of today's families � with all of their diversity, dysfunction, humor and passion. Real stories. Real families. Real heart.
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