ABC FAMILY'S HIT SERIES "THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER" PICKED UP FOR SECOND SEASON

Burbank, CA (Monday, February 9, 2009) � ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," which launched as the highest rated original series in the network's history this past summer, has been picked up for a second season, it was announced today by Kate Juergens, executive vice president, Original Series Programming & Development, ABC Family. The series has been picked up for a 24-episode order. The first season's finale will air on March 23, and the series will tentatively return in summer 2009.

"'The Secret Life of the American Teenager' has really struck a chord not just with our Millennial audience, but with viewers across the board," said Juergens. "We're delighted to announce the series will return. The success of this show goes directly to creator Brenda Hampton's telling of this heartfelt story and is backed by the standout performances of our talented cast."

ABC Family recorded its most-watched year on record in 2008. In its new Monday 8 p.m. time period, season 1B to date, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" qualifies as TV's No. 1 program in Females 12-34 (2.1 million), and cable's No. 1 program across all key measures, including Total Viewers (3.7 million), Adults 18-34 (1.1 million), Adults 18-49 (1.7 million) and Viewers 12-34 (2.5 million). Since returning in its new Monday 8 o'clock time period on January 5, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" surpasses the CW's "Gossip Girl" in head-to-head action, beating the flagship property by 42% in Total Viewers, by 6% in Adults 18-49 and by 67% in Viewers 12-34.

The one-hour drama, which focuses on the relationships between families and friends and how they deal with an unexpected teen pregnancy and other teen issues, currently airs on the network on Monday nights, 8:00-9:00pm ET/PT. The first-season order for the series was 23 episodes.

The series stars Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Mark Derwin, India Eisley, Ken Baumann, Daren Kagasoff, Francia Raisa, Megan Park and Greg Finley. Created and executive-produced by Brenda Hampton, the series is produced by ABC Family in association with Brendavision.

Part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, ABC Family, distributed in over 95 million homes, features original movies, series and specials reflecting today's families and entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today's relationships, all told with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a mix of quality acquired series and theatricals as well as original movies and scripted dramas. ABC Family is also the destination for Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas" branded programming events. ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

*Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Ratings, 1B STD: 1/5/09-2/2/09, Most Current.