TV ONE'S "RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL" RETURNS FOR A FIFTH SEASON, PREMIERING ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30 AT 8 P.M. ET/7C

In the Most Explosive Season Ever, Rickey Adjusts to Additional Kids in the Household, Confronts Alcohol Abuse Among His Young Adult Children, and Reveals Gary with da Tea's Serious Health Battle

New High-Energy Promotions Campaign Celebrates Rickey's HBCU Roots, Featuring Rickey as Drum Major Leading the Clark Atlanta University Marching Band

(SILVER SPRING, MD) - October 22, 2018 - Season five of the hit franchise RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL returns to TV One with more fun, family drama and life challenges on Tuesday, October 30 at 8 p.m./7C. This season the show captures Rickey Smiley navigating the ups and downs of his professional demands while adapting to new additions in his household, and juggling the growing pains of his young adult children. Various health topics and relationship matters will also be revealed throughout the season. A hit with critics and viewers alike, RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL Season 4 reached 7.3MM unique viewers 2+ during its premiere run. Additionally, TV One ranked as a top Ad-Supported Cable network in that Tuesday 8p-10p timeslot among AA P25-54 (#4).*

To kick things off this season, the promotions campaign celebrates Rickey's proud HBCU roots with a series of hilarious, high-energy spots. Featuring Rickey as an honorary 'drum major' for the Clark Atlanta University Marching Band, the rest of the cast, including Da Brat, Juicy, and Gary With da Tea, join in the fun. In partnership with Urban One, TV One will also host the RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL HBCULove Tailgate Truck Tour Experience at the annual SpelHouse Homecoming celebration on Saturday, October 27. The interactive event will feature a branded truck, silent listening party, a live DJ, a virtual reality experience, and promotional giveaways.

In this season's opener, all the kids have moved out and Rickey finally has the house to himself. Just as Rickey gets comfortable being an empty nester, four new teenagers move into his Birmingham mansion courtesy of his cousin Summer, who's looking for a fresh start after suffering from a stroke.

Rickey must also deal with his college-aged daughter D'Essence getting arrested for two DUI's, Aaryn's mom getting remarried, and turning 50.

Over at the radio station, Gary with da Tea reveals he has a life-threatening health issue. Da Brat informs Jermaine Dupri and Bow Wow that she wants to hold a "Queen of the Ring" in Atlanta with Babs Bunny. Headkrack and Beyonce have started an event planning company, and Porsha Williams tries to play matchmaker for Rickey.

It's well known that Rickey can throw down in the kitchen and this season, he's bringing his passion to a brand new online cooking show. Following each episode at 9/8C, Rickey will keep you laughing while he prepares his favorite mouthwatering recipes on TV One's new digital series "Cooking Up Comedy" available on TVOne.tv and Facebook.

RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL is produced by Bobbcat Films for TV One with Rickey Smiley and Roger M. Bobb as Executive Producers and Angi Bones as Co-Executive Producer. For TV One, Susan Henry and Gold Morgan are Executive Producers-in-Charge of Production, Donyell McCullough is Senior Director of Talent & Casting, and Robyn Greene Arrington is Head of Original Programming and Production.

*Source: Nielsen TV Toolbox, L+3, Reach and Frequency, 1-min qualifier, Season 4 premieres and encores, P2+ | Ad-Supported Cable Rank, no exclusions, 6/13- 9/19/2017, Tuesday 8pm-9pm

For more information on RICKEY SMILEY FOR REAL, visit TV One's YouTube Channel and check out exclusive, behind-the-scenes content on www.tvone.tv. Viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on TV One's Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using the hashtags #RICKEYSMILEYFORREAL and #REPRESENT.

ABOUT SWIRL FILMS:

Swirl Films is America's "number one urban film production company," a full-service film & television production company with over 60 original productions in the past six years, focusing on urban content and programming, independent features and multi-camera productions. Swirl Films is a major content provider for TV One including the original productions: Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story (2016), which was TV One's first ever biopic, starring LisaRaye McCoy, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Darius McCrary, Indirah Khan and Teyonah Parris as Howard. According to the network, the film broke record ratings, undeniably becoming the top original film in the network's history drawing in 2 million views, resulting in the networks highest ratings week ever. Quickly surpassing those numbers is TV One's #1 original premiere of all time, When Love Kills: The Falicia Blakely Story (2017), starring Lance Gross, Niatia Kirkland and Tami Roman, directed by actress Tasha Smith. Swirl Films previous production credits for TV One include Born Again Virgin, starring Danielle Nicolet, Meagan Holder and Eva Marcille; Here We Go Again, starring LeToya Luckett, Wendy Raquel Robinson and Kyndall Ferguson; Russ Parr's award-winning film, The Undershepherd, Hear No Evil and 35 & Ticking (Kevin Hart).

ABOUT TV ONE

Launched in January 2004, TV One serves 59 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult black viewers. The network represents the best in black culture and entertainment with fan favorite shows Unsung, Rickey Smiley For Real, Fatal Attraction, The Manns and The NAACP Image Awards. In addition, TV One is the cable home of blockbuster drama Empire, and NewsOne Now, the only live daily news program dedicated to black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Urban One, Inc., formerly known as Radio One, Inc. [NASDAQ: UONE and UONEK, www.urban1.com], the largest African-American owned multi-media company primarily targeting Black and urban audiences.

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