Finding a Path for Wayward Souls: New TLC Series Places Those at a Crossroads With the Brothers and Sisters of the Cloth

- TLC Goes Inside Rarely Seen Monasteries for Unique Personal Journeys -

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 13 -- TLC will premiere a groundbreaking new series that places men and women at a critical life stage into a monastery to embark on a spiritual journey. The announcement was made today by TLC's executive vice president and general manager David Abraham from the Television Critics Association (TCA) Press Tour in Pasadena.

The series -- FORTY DAYS, FORTY NIGHTS (w.t.) -- premiering in June 2006, will follow two groups of men and women who separately live, study, work and think with all-male and all-female monastic regimes. Filming is set to begin in two separate undisclosed locations in the United States over the next two weeks. Five men will film for 40 days in one secluded location while five women will shoot for 40 days at another. None of the participants know the particulars of where they will go and what they will do on a daily basis, but all of them know they will live in a monastery where they will be subject to the rules and traditions of monastic life. Cameras will have unprecedented access to the inner sanctum sanctorum of both monasteries -- and the individuality and commonality each affords.

"FORTY DAYS is a social, spiritual and learning experiment in which people experience the intensity of monastic life," said Abraham. "The purpose is not religious conversion per se, but it is to expose people to the reality of unplugging from modern life completely and creating the opportunity to explore their beliefs in a contemplative environment. The tone of the series will be thoughtful and respectful to the brothers and sisters who have made their monastery home to our production team and the participants in the series."

The documentary series bridges the divide and makes a connection between the countercultural values of monastic life and the real struggles of the secular life. The men and women chosen for FORTY DAYS, FORTY NIGHTS (w.t.) come from all walks of life and are facing inner struggles. And each will begin a parallel journey both spiritually and psychologically. The series is the story of the participants as they live in a monastery, not about the dynamics of the monastic community itself.

FORTY DAYS, FORTY NIGHTS (w.t.) is produced by Tiger/Tigress Productions for TLC. Christine Weber is the executive producer and Sara Woodford is the series producer for Tiger/Tigress Productions, and Mark Finkelpearl is the executive producer for TLC.

Discovery Communications, Inc. is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company. Discovery has grown from its core property, the Discovery Channel, first launched in the United States in 1985, to current global operations in more than 160 countries and territories with 1.3 billion cumulative subscribers. DCI's over 90 networks of distinctive programming represent 25 network entertainment brands including TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Military Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Discovery en Espanol, Discovery Kids En Espanol, Discovery HD Theater, FitTV, Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir), Discovery Home & Health and Discovery Real Time. DCI's other properties consist of Discovery Education and Discovery Commerce, which operates 120 Discovery Channel Stores. DCI also distributes BBC America in the United States. DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Discovery Holding Company (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB), Cox Communications, Inc., Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder and Chairman.

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SOURCE TLC
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