TLC PARTIES WITH THE DEARLY DEPARTED

New series "BEST FUNERAL EVER" premieres Wednesday, October 23rd at 10/9c

For most of us, death is a time to mourn and shed tears for the departed. For others, it's a time to honor their loved ones and celebrate the life through services that reinvent the traditional funeral. Earlier this year, TLC introduced viewers to the Dallas-based Golden Gate Funeral Home where John Beckwith Jr. and his staff organize the most unique funerals in the country, called home-going celebrations. The premiere of TLC's BEST FUNERAL EVER became a pop culture phenomenon and a trending topic on twitter. The pilot averaged 1.5M P2+ viewers and ranked #2 among all ad-supported cable in its Sunday 10-11pm time period among W18-34.

No expense is spared as Beckwith and his team creates memories that will last forever. Starting with the deceased's occupation or passion in life, the Golden Gate staff works with the families to create a central theme for a memorial and then elevates it to an unforgettable party. The end goal is to create a celebration as unique as the person they loved with an equally unique party.

This season of BEST FUNERAL EVER takes you inside some of the most elaborate home-going services in the world including:

· The Beasley Family celebrates the life of a young man who ate breakfast three times a day, so his service serves up a mix of preaching and frying eggs while mourning, and flipping flapjacks all at once.

· After the passing of Olympian Gold Medalist Ronnie Ray Smith, the Golden Gate staff must figure out how to get a coffin to run the 100 meter dash for the Track and Field-themed funeral.

· Rafael Valenzuela becomes a part of football history when his family sends the super fan off with one last field goal kick.

· Welterweight champion Tyrone "Showboat" Cotton gets one more round in the ring as his friends and family cheer him on to heaven.

· The community remembers a man who loved candy so much that his casket is dipped in chocolate for the whole town to eat.

· The Golden Gate crew faces challenges as they try to produce a Game Show themed home going, including spinning the deceased on a "wheel of funeral."

The seven half-hour episodes kick off Wednesday, October 23rd at 10/9c. BEST FUNERAL EVER is produced Park Slope Productions.

TLC is a global brand that celebrates extraordinary people and relatable life moments through innovative nonfiction programming. A top 10 cable network in key female demos, TLC has built successful consumer brands around series including Cake Boss, and has transformed Fridays into "BrideDay" with a lineup of wedding-themed programming anchored by the Say Yes To The Dress franchise. In 2012, TLC had 28 series averaging 1 million P2+ viewers or more, including four series that averaged 2 million P2+ viewers or more: Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Breaking Amish, Long Island Medium, and Sister Wives.

TLC is available in more than 99 million homes in the US and more than 300 million households in over 150 markets internationally. A destination online, TLC.com offers in-depth fan sites, exclusive video content, and original editorial covering style, home, food, and more. Fans can also interact with TLC via On Demand services, on mobile platforms, and through social media such as Facebook or @TLC on Twitter. TLC is part of Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA,DISCB, DISCK), the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.8 billion cumulative subscribers in 218 countries and territories.