A&E'S HIT SERIES "BEYOND SCARED STRAIGHT" RETURNS FOR A THIRD SEASON ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 AT 10PM ET/PT

ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER ARNOLD SHAPIRO DEBUTS NEW SEASON OF TEENS EXPERIENCING WHAT LIFE IS REALLY LIKE BEHIND BARS

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 31, 2012 - A&E's ground-breaking series "Beyond Scared Straight," following derailed, defiant and disrespectful teens as they enter immersive jail programs aimed at deterring them from a life of crime, returns for a third season on Thursday, August 23 at 10PM ET/PT.

"Beyond Scared Straight" is inspired by "Scared Straight!," the Academy Award and multiple Emmy-winning documentary film by Arnold Shapiro. The series follows at-risk teens who have been in trouble for everything from fighting, theft, and drugs to promiscuity, gambling and gang-relations. They are forced to spend a day in jail, interact with convicted felons and truly experience what a life behind bars is like. In the end, some change for the better, but for others, nothing changes at all.

The season premiere hones in on Boston, MA, where according to street law; the neighborhood you live in defines you; and behind bars, that means conflict. Two of the teen girls collide when they are forced together behind bars: Thalia, an unrelenting bully, fights anyone who gets in her way, even her own grandmother; but it is Jahmiya, a scrappy thief, who leads the other female delinquents to gang up on Thalia, forcing her to take in parts of jail life no one should have to stomach.

Later in the season, teens are taken to the morgue and an older brother is forced to consider how his actions could put his little brother into a body bag, one boy fails a lie detector test when asked about hitting his grandmother, a promiscuous girl is made to dance like a stripper in front of her paraplegic mom, infamous inmate "Ice Mike" returns from last season and forces the teens to put Kool-Aid powder on their lips, and a self-proclaimed white racist teen endures the wrath of the entire African American inmate population.

Emmy-nominated "Beyond Scared Straight" has been cable's #1 non-fiction crime/justice show for two consecutive years. The series premiere was A&E's most watched original series launch of all-time among A18-49 and in its second season the series averaged 2.3 million total viewers; 1.3 million A18-49 and 1.1 million A25-54.

"Beyond Scared Straight" is produced by Arnold Shapiro Productions for A&E Network. Executive Producer is Arnold Shapiro. Co-Executive Producer is Paul J. Coyne. A&E Executive Producers are David McKillop and Laura Fleury.

About A&E Network

A&E is "Real Life. Drama." Now reaching more than 99 million homes, A&E is television that you can't turn away from; where unscripted shows are dramatic and scripted dramas are authentic. A&E offers a diverse mix of high quality entertainment ranging from the network's original scripted series, including "The Glades" and "Longmire," to signature non-fiction franchises, including the Emmy-winning "Intervention," "Duck Dynasty," "Hoarders," "Beyond Scared Straight" and "Storage Wars," and the most successful justice shows on cable, including "The First 48." The A&E website is located at www.aetv.com.