ANIMAL PLANET DEBUTS MINISERIES "INFESTED!" WITH STORIES OF EXTREME INFESTATIONS WHERE DREAM HOMES BECOME LIVING NIGHTMARES

New Darlow Smithson Production Premieres January 9, with Back-to-back Nightmarish True Stories of Households Nearly Destroyed by Nasty Creatures

Animal Planet announces a new commission of Darlow Smithson Productions' (DSP) INFESTED!, a three-part miniseries that unearths the real-life horror stories of ordinary people plagued by frighteningly extraordinary infestations. Dangerous, deadly, weird and bizarre, the series features the nastiest of nature's squatters, including mice, scorpions, spiders, bedbugs, rats, roaches, raccoons and snakes!

The miniseries features true stories recounted by the INFESTED! victims. Each chilling story is enhanced by macro-lens photography and recreations, showing these nasty creatures up close and personal. INFESTED! strips viewers of the four walls that protect them from the outside world.

"We're delighted to grow our partnership with Darlow Smithson on INFESTED!" says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. "They've done a terrific job on the intense and intimate stories of people who have confronted their mortality out in the wild with I SHOULDN'T BE ALIVE. And we know audiences won't be able to turn away from INFESTED! because of Darlow's incredible knack for making viewers feel as though they're sharing the nightmares with these accidental victims of nature - this time in the relative safety of their own homes."

"Your house is your refuge, but when these creatures take hold, your home becomes their home, and that's where the battle begins," says Nick Metcalfe, series producer at Darlow Smithson Productions.

Each episode of INFESTED! relives the unimaginable, intimate nightmares of three families with three different types of infestations and a boatload of dread. Cameras show an up-close image of a cockroach planted on the bristles of a toothbrush and a mass of reproductive mice running through clothes, on children's toys and around the kitchen. INFESTED! is more than enough to make every one shiver and check twice under the bed.

INFESTED! is a production of Darlow Smithson Productions for Animal Planet. Tom Brisley is executive producer for Darlow Smithson, and Lisa Lucas is the executive producer for Animal Planet. Marc Etkind is the vice president of development for Animal Planet. Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 97 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.