Jericho, New York, July 6, 2004 – WE: WOMEN'S ENTERTAINMENT has acquired the off-network rights to the award winning comedy series BOSTON PUBLIC and DHARMA & GREG from Twentieth Television, it was jointly announced today by Kathleen Dore, President, Rainbow Entertainment Services; and Bob Cook, President and COO, Twentieth Television.
"We are excited about these latest acquisitions," commented Dore. "We chose DHARMA & GREG and BOSTON PUBLIC because of their widespread appeal to women, relevant themes and quality writing. These programs fit with WE's mission to provide viewers with programming that is fresh, upbeat and will connect with a diverse array of women viewers."
Cook noted, "BOSTON PUBLIC and DHARMA & GREG are two highly entertaining programs with very strong appeal among the audience WE attracts. With a rich and diverse library of content that can target key demographics for our clientele, we are delighted to enter into this deal with WE and assist the network in achieving its goals."
The deal for BOSTON PUBLIC includes all 81 episodes, which will premiere on WE this fall. Created by David E. Kelley, BOSTON PUBLIC premiered on Fox in 2000 and stars Jeri Ryan,
Michael Rapaport and Chi McBride. All 119 episodes of DHARMA & GREG will premiere on WE in Fall 2005. Starring Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson, the popular series aired on ABC from 1997 through 2002.
BOSTON PUBLIC is a dramatic, behind-the-scenes look at the personal and professional lives of teachers working at a midsize high school in Boston. At the top of the faculty chain of command is Steven Harper, the strong and intimidating principal. Harper is the force behind the school's objective to make students smarter and better. From handling irate parents to confronting school bullies to settling disputes between his staff, every day brings a new challenge for Harper. BOSTON PUBLIC has won numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, GLAAD Media Award, Image Award, Young Artist Award and Peabody Award.
DHARMA & GREG is about the celebration and challenge of the lives and marriage of Dharma and Greg, two romance-fated opposites completely committed to each other despite the insanity of their respective dysfunctional families and craziness of the world around them.
DHARMA & GREG has been nominated for several EMMY, Golden Globe, TV Guide and Writer's Guild Awards. It has won Golden Globe, People's Choice and TV Guide Awards.
WE: Women's Entertainment is part of Rainbow Media's Entertainment Services, which also includes AMC and IFC Companies. WE: Women's Entertainment features the largest collection of women's interest films, inspiring original series and topical specials. The network is currently available in over 55 million homes.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC:
A leader in sports, news and entertainment programming, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC). Rainbow Media owns and manages national networks: AMC, Fuse, IFC (The Independent Film Channel) and WE: Women's Entertainment; as well as the on-demand services: Mag Rack, Uncensored On Demand, World Picks On Demand and World Picks Networks. Rainbow Media's other businesses include its regional programming services ? MetroChannels, News 12 Networks and Rainbow Sports Networks ? in addition to the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. Rainbow Media is also a 50 percent partner in Fox Sports Net.
About Twentieth Television:
A leader in the domestic program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programming distributed by Twentieth Television includes "On-Air with Ryan Seacrest," "Good Day Live," "Divorce Court," "Texas Justice," "Ambush Makeover" and the new daily lifestyle program "Live Like A Star." One of the top suppliers of off-net product in the U.S., Twentieth Television also distributes the smash off-net hit sitcom "The Simpsons," as well as "Reba," "Yes, Dear," "The Bernie Mac Show," "King of the Hill," "Dharma & Greg" and "Malcolm in the Middle"; and spearheaded the precedent-setting off-net debuts of the ground-breaking dramas "The Practice," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The X-Files" and "Angel."