TNT Announces Restaurants Set to Participate in New Series "On the Menu," Premiering Friday, Oct. 3

Ty Pennington and Legendary Chef Emeril Lagasse Headline TV's First Cooking Competition to Let Viewers Taste Each Week's Winning Dish

TNT has unveiled the 10 restaurant chains that have signed on for the first season of On the Menu, the network's revolutionary new cooking competition show. Host Ty Pennington (Trading Spaces, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) and legendary Chef Emeril Lagasse (Emeril Live, Top Chef, Emeril's Florida) headline the series in which everyday cooks will vie for the chance to have their own dishes served in major restaurant chains across the country. On the Menu is set to premiere on TNT Friday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. (ET/PT).

TNT's On the Menu is the first cooking competition show ever to give viewers the chance to taste the winning dish after every episode. Each weekly competition will challenge a group of passionate home cooks to create a new signature dish for that week's featured restaurant. Eateries participating in On the Menu cover a wide range of cuisines, from traditional barbecue to modern fusion. Here's the lineup for season one:

· Chili's - Friday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Denny's - Friday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· California Pizza Kitchen - Friday, Oct. 17, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Planet Hollywood - Friday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Emeril's Restaurant - Friday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· The Cheesecake Factory - Friday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Cabo Wabo/Sammy's Beach Bar & Grill - Friday, Nov. 14, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Outback Steakhouse - Friday, Nov. 21, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Buca di Beppo - Friday, Nov. 28, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

· Dickey's Barbecue Pit - Friday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

Each episode of On the Menu opens with four cooks who must face a series of elimination challenges in order to make it to the final round. First up, they must demonstrate their understanding of that week's featured restaurant through an intense preliminary challenge. In the second round, the three remaining cooks must each create their own new dish for the restaurant and serve it to a room full of hungry diners and super fans of the featured eatery, whose votes will determine who moves on to the final round. After refining and perfecting their dishes based on the comments they receive from the diners in round two, the last two cooks serve their creations to Ty, Emeril and representatives from the featured restaurant, in whose hands the final decision rests. In a first for television cooking competitions, the winning contestant's dish will then appear on the restaurant's menu the very next day.

As host of On the Menu, Ty Pennington leads competitors through each of the elimination challenges, while Emeril Lagasse provides his expertise as a seasoned chef and industry insider, using his vast knowledge of cooking, branding and sales to help the contestants shape their culinary creations.

On the Menu comes to TNT from One Three Media. Emmy(R) winner Mark Burnett (The Bible, The Voice, Survivor) and Dean Houser (The Sing-Off, Stars Earn Stripes, Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp) serve as executive producers on the series.

About TNT

TNT is television's destination for drama. Seen in 101 million households and ranking among cable's top networks, TNT is home to such original drama series as Rizzoli & Isles, Major Crimes, Falling Skies, The Last Ship, Legends, Murder in the First, Perception, Dallas and Franklin & Bash. TNT's upcoming slate of original scripted dramas includes The Librarians, Public Morals, Proof and Transporter The Series, which will make its U.S. television debut on the network this fall. TNT also features such dramatic unscripted series as Cold Justice and the upcoming On the Menu and Wake Up Call. In addition, TNT is the cable home to popular dramas like Hawaii Five-0, Castle, The Mentalist, Bones and Supernatural; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R); blockbuster movies; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR, the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

TNT is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company. Turner Broadcasting creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.