LIFE GETS "UNEXPECTEDLY" MORE "AWKWARD" WHEN SPECIAL GUEST-STAR KRIS POLAHA APPEARS IN TWO EPISODES OF MTV'S HIT COMEDY SERIES "AWKWARD," BEGINNING THURSDAY, AUGUST 9 AT 10:30 P.M. ET/PT

Santa Monica, CA (August 3, 2012) - MTV is giving fans another reason to tune in to hit comedy series "Awkward," when Kris Polaha ("Life Unexpected," "Ringer") guest-stars in a two episode arc, starting on Thursday, August 9 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

In the first of the two all-new episodes, Polaha plays Ben, a blast from Lacey's past, who shows up to attend Aunt Ally's (guest-star Barret Swatek) wedding. Lacey is excited to see her old friend but not everyone feels the same way. Will Ben's arrival wreak havoc for the Hamilton family? Meanwhile, Jenna is finally clear on her feelings for Jake, but is determined to not let a man from her mother's past, an out of control bridezilla, and a scheming Sadie, ruin everything.

MTV recently announced the critically acclaimed series will return for a third season and feature 20 episodes, nearly double the number of its first and second seasons.

"Awkward" stars Ashley Rickards as Jenna, Beau Mirchoff as Matty, Molly Tarlov as Sadie, Jillian Rose Reed as Tamara, Brett Davern as Jake, Nikki DeLoach as Lacey, Desi Lydic as Valerie, Jessica Lu as Ming, Mike Faiola as Kevin and Greer Grammer as Lissa.

The series was created by Lauren Iungerich. Iungerich and Erin Ehrlich serve as executive producers.

For more "Awkward" moments, like it on Facebook or follow the show on Twitter.

About MTV

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.