DATES TURN FROM DREAM TO DREAD IN A NEW SEASON OF "DATES FROM HELL" ON INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY

-- Investigation Discovery's "Escape a Date" Texting Service Offers Fans Excuses to Escape from Their Own DATES FROM HELL -

(Silver Spring, MD) - Romantic dinners under the stars and cozy movie nights cuddled up on the couch turn for the worse faster than anyone expects in a new season of DATES FROM HELL. As the home of "love gone wrong" programming, this Investigation Discovery series profiles astounding cases of romance that are dead upon arrival - when the search for love turns into a struggle to get out alive. Whether it's just being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or a seemingly perfect match that takes a twisted turn, survivors discuss what it was like to live through and escape a true date from hell. Season two of DATES FROM HELL premieres on Friday, April 12 at 10 and 10:30 PM on Investigation Discovery.

In addition to providing cautionary tales in the series, ID is launching a new "Escape a Date" texting service to help viewers avoid their own, less serious, potential dating disasters. Beginning tomorrow, March 22, users can text ESCAPE to 97979 (message and data rates may apply) to receive a night-salvaging phone call that offers an excuse to bailout if your date has some abnormally bad breath or just can't stop talking about his "mommy."

"Lovers trysts turn traumatic in our series, DATES FROM HELL," said Henry Schleiff, president and general manager, Investigation Discovery. "While the stories profiled are precautionary tales in their own right, we hope that by hearing directly from the survivors', viewers will learn how to avoid the dark side of dating."

In the premiere episode on April 12 at 10 PM, when a man doesn't get the affection he expects from his unrequited love, he decides to teach her a paralyzing lesson with his SUV. Then at 10:30, a boring frat party at the University of Kentucky leads a newly-dating couple to find better amusement by the railroad tracks. But the tracks also attract a killer lurking in the shadows, who leaves one of them dead and the other struggling to survive. Other horror stories profiled this season include: a woman who breaks up with her boyfriend and he retaliates with his antique Samurai sword; lovers escaping to their romantic hideaway only to discover that they're not alone; and digital dreams that turn into real-life nightmares.

The "Escape a Date" texting service will be available to users beginning tomorrow, and additional details will be housed tomorrow on the DATES FROM HELL show website. To help power the application, Investigation Discovery partnered with Telescope, the leader in audience engagement technology, and the company responsible for driving audience interaction around a number of high-profile television programs including "American Idol" and "The Voice."

DATES FROM HELL is produced by Sharp Entertainment with Matt Sharp and Jason Sklaver as executive producers for Sharp, and Thomas Cutler as executive producer for Investigation Discovery. Sara Kozak is senior vice president of production, and Henry Schleiff is president and general manager of Investigation Discovery.

About Investigation Discovery

Investigation Discovery (ID) is America's leading mystery-and-suspense network. From harrowing crimes and salacious scandals to the in-depth investigations and heart-breaking mysteries that result, ID challenges our everyday understanding of culture, society and the human condition. ID delivers the highest-quality programming to nearly 82 million U.S. households with viewer favorites that include On the Case with Paula Zahn; Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda; Who the (Bleep) Did I Marry?; Disappeared; Stalked: Someone's Watching; and Redrum. For more information, please visit InvestigationDiscovery.com, facebook.com/InvestigationDiscovery, or twitter.com/DiscoveryID. Investigation Discovery is part of Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's #1 nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 209 countries and territories.