ABC FAMILY STARTS PRODUCTION ON NEW DRAMA SERIES "RECOVERY ROAD"

Burbank, CA (April 24, 2015) - Production began this week in Los Angeles for the new ABC Family original drama series "Recovery Road," the compelling story of a teenage girl's struggle with addiction. Lawrence Trilling ("Parenthood") is directing the episode, which will debut in 2016.

Based on the popular young adult novel by Blake Nelson, "Recovery Road" focuses on Maddie, a teenage girl dealing with addiction. Maddie has a reputation as a party girl who doesn't think she has a problem, until she's confronted one day by her school guidance counselor and is forced to choose between expulsion and rehab. Maddie makes the difficult decision to live with other recovering addicts at a sober living facility while facing the daily pressures of her teenage life.

"Recovery Road" stars Jessica Sula ("Skins") as Maddie, Sebastian de Souza ("The Borgias"), Sharon Leal ("Dreamgirls"), Alexis Carra ("Mixology"), Kyla Pratt ("Dr. Doolittle"), Daniel Franzese ("Mean Girls"), and David Witts ("EastEnders"). The pilot was written by Bert V. Royal ("Easy A") and Karen DiConcetto ("Ruby & The Rockits"), who will also serve as executive producers, alongside Holly Sorenson ("Make It or Break It"), Danielle VonZerneck ("Left to Die"), and Craig Piligian ("Abducted: The Carlina White Story"), and Beth Miller ("Revenge of the Bridesmaids") from Pilgrim Studios.

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in 94 million homes. ABC Family entertains and connects to audiences with bold, relatable programming that celebrates the epic adventure of becoming an adult, from first kiss to first kid. ABC Family's programming is a combination of network-defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. "WATCH ABC Family" is an authenticated service which allows viewers with participating TV subscription services access to 24/7 live viewing of the network, as well as continued on-demand access to such popular series at home and on-the-go via a wide array of devices. ABC Family is also the destination for annual holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas."