Primetime schedule also includes Switched at
Birth, Melissa & Joey, Make It or Break
It
and The Lying Game
For high-resolution images, please visit
http://mediacentre.corusent.com
TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Corus
Entertainment's newest service, ABC Spark, launches on
Monday, March 26 with the
day-and-date season premiere of the critically acclaimed The
Secret Life of the American Teenager. The primetime
schedule will also include ABC Family original series
Switched at Birth, Melissa & Joey,
The Lying Game and Make It or Break It.
ABC Spark, built on the foundation of the successful U.S. brand ABC
Family, will also feature a slate of popular general entertainment
programming that will complement the primetime lineup.
"With the launch of ABC Spark, the wait is over for Canada. Fans of hit series like The Secret
Life of the American Teenager will now have unprecedented
access to ABC Family programming, delivered across multiple
platforms," said Ted Ellis, Vice
President, Programming, Kids and Family. "Nested blocks of ABC
Family programming that aired on YTV, W Network and CMT leading up
to the launch of the service have been very successful. Clearly,
there is real appetite for these kinds of shows and we are excited
to grow this brand in Canada."
Viewers across Canada will have the opportunity to sample
this new network during a free preview beginning Monday,
March 26 through to Saturday, June
30.
ABC Spark's primetime schedule to include:
The Secret Life of the American
Teenager - Season 4 - New episodes!
Mondays at 8 p.m. ET /
9 p.m. PT starting March 26
From the creator of 7th Heaven comes a heartfelt one-hour
drama that focuses on the relationships between families and
friends and how they deal with an unexpected teen pregnancy. The
series' regular cast includes popular actress Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles) and
Golden Globe® nominee Shailene
Woodley (The Descendants, The O.C.). The
series also stars Ken Baumann,
Mark Derwin, India Eisley, Greg
Finley, Daren Kagasoff,
Megan Park and Francia Raisa with Steve
Schirripa.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
picks up right where it left off after a dramatic summer finale,
with Amy accepting a marriage proposal from boyfriend, and father
of her son, Ricky and Adrian and Ben moving on from their tragic
past. This season, the series continues to explore new and ever
changing relationships with the introduction of several new
characters. Despite the crazy relationships, there's an
undercurrent of discovery, honesty and growing up - even for the
adults.
Make It or Break It - Season
3
Mondays at 9 p.m. ET /
10 p.m. PT starting March 26
Make It or Break It is a one-hour scripted drama, set in the
world of competitive gymnastics and follows a group of teen Olympic
hopefuls as they train and prepare for their day in the
spotlight.
In Season 3, Payson (Ayla Kell), Kaylie (Josie Loren), and Lauren (Cassie Scerbo) move into the USA Training center to endure a rigorous
eight-week training competition to make the cut for the 2012
Olympic gymnastics team. With a new coach and fierce competition -
including the return of former rivals Kelly
Parker and Jordan Randall -
Payson, Kaylie and Lauren are pushed to their limits physically and
emotionally. The girls are closer than ever and committed to making
the Olympic team together, but secret betrayals, questionable
alliances and the reality of competing to make the final cut will
test their loyalties like never before.
Switched at Birth - Season 1 -
New episodes!
Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET /
9 p.m. PT starting March 27
A one-hour scripted drama, Switched at Birth, tells the
story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally
switched as newborns in the hospital. Vanessa Marano plays Bay Kennish, a girl who
grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while
Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc), is a girl who lost her hearing
at an early age due to a case of meningitis and grew up with a
single mother in a working class neighbourhood. Things come to a
dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to
live together for the sake of the girls. This dramatic new series
also includes Lea Thompson
(Caroline in the City), and D.W.
Moffett (Friday Night Lights). The series also stars
Constance Marie, Lucas Grabeel and Sean
Berdy as Emmett Bledsoe.
Academy Award® winner Marlee Matlin
is a recurring guest star as Melody
Bledsoe, Emmett's mother.
Bay's father Angelo (Gilles Marini) is back and his motives continue
to be questionable as he attempts to reunite the biological Vasquez
family (himself, Regina, and Bay) and mend fences with Daphne. Bay
and Emmett confront the obstacles of a hearing/deaf relationship,
as Bay falls deeper for Emmett and meets his father. Wilke
(Austin Butler) heats up his
romantic pursuit of Daphne, which complicates things between
Toby (Grabeel) and Wilke.
The Lying Game - Season
1
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET /
10 p.m. PT starting March 27
In The Lying Game, inspired by the Sara Shepard (Pretty
Little Liars) book series of the same name, Emma (Alexandra Chando) is a kind-hearted foster kid
who can't catch a break. She finds out she has an identical twin
sister, Sutton (also played by Chando), who, unlike Emma, was
adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life.
After their initial meeting, Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life
for a few days while she pursues a lead on their birth mother.
Initially excited to do this favour for her sister, Emma soon
learns that Sutton has gone
missing and could be in trouble. Now, Emma must decide whether to
come clean to Sutton's family and
risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister's
true whereabouts, along with truth about why they were separated in
the first place.
Melissa & Joey - Season
1
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and
8:30 p.m. ET/PT starting March 28
Melissa & Joey is a hit comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. Melissa
Joan Hart portrays Mel, the grown-up former wild child of a
political family who is now a local politician herself. When her
sister ends up in prison and brother-in-law flees after a scandal
hits, Mel must take responsibility for her teenaged niece, Lennox,
and adolescent nephew, Ryder. Spread too thin to manage by herself,
help comes in the unlikely form of Joe
(Lawrence) who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes
the family's "manny."
ABC Spark is available in Canada through a license agreement between
Corus Entertainment and Disney/ABC Television Group. Built on the
foundation of the successful U.S. brand ABC Family, ABC Spark is a
multiplatform offering featuring original series and movies, as
well as general entertainment programming. The 24-hour channel will
have the same values, look, tone, essence and feel of ABC Family in
the U.S. www.abcspark.ca
About Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian-based
media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in
specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay
television, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and
children's animation. The Company's multimedia entertainment brands
include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
(Canada), CosmoTV, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana,
Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW AM 980, 99.3 The
FOX, Country 105, 630 CHED, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates
engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across
multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on
the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the web at
www.corusent.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Twitter -
@ABCSparkCanada
Facebook -
Facebook.com/ABCSparkCanada
For high-resolution images, please visit
http://mediacentre.corusent.com.
Follow Corus PR on Twitter @CorusPR
SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.
Video with caption: "Video: ABC Spark kicks off with
day-and-date season premiere of ABC Family original series The
Secret Life of the American Teenager on March 26". Video available at:
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