Direct Satellite TV Blog

NBC'S PASSIONS TO WORK ITS MAGIC ON DIRECTV VIEWERS WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 17

Fan Favorite Daytime Drama Joins DIRECTV's The 101 Lineup; New Episodes Produced by NBC Universal Television Studio Will Air on DIRECTV

El Segundo, Calif., April 25, 2007—NBC Universal Television Studio and DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television provider, today announced that the NBC Universal-produced daytime drama Passions has found a new home on DIRECTV where the popular program will continue for a 9^th season. Under the new agreement, NBC Universal Television Studio will produce brand-new episodes to air Monday-Thursday on DIRECTV's original programming channel, The 101.

The celebrated daytime drama, which currently averages 2 million viewers and enjoys an intensely dedicated fan base, will end its network run on NBC September 7 with a series of cliffhangers and will resurface on DIRECTV September 17, picking up where the series left off. The show will remain in its current time slot of 2 PM ET and DIRECTV will air encore marathons of the show each weekend. The majority of the cast and crew are expected to return when the one-hour series begins shooting the new DIRECTV episodes in August.

"Passions fans no longer need to mourn the demise of their beloved program as it has found new life on DIRECTV," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president of Entertainment for DIRECTV. "We care about this show and are extremely proud to give it an exclusive home here at DIRECTV."

"This new arrangement with DIRECTV is truly a landmark development that allows NBC Universal to extend the Passions brand in a fresh and entirely new way, to DIRECTV's 16 million homes," said Marc Graboff, president, NBC Universal Television, West Coast. "It will reward the dedicated fans of the daytime drama who can continue to enjoy it on DIRECTV and also opens up a great new model for other television programs to find new life on other non-traditional platforms."

Passions will be the first scripted drama series to join The 101 original program lineup which includes viewer favorites like Project MyWorld, The Fizz, havoc on The 101, and Championship Gaming Series. The series will broadcast four one-hour episodes per week, as well as a weekend marathon of that week's shows so fans can catch up on the action each week.

Passions explores the lives, loves and losses of four core families in the small New England town of Harmony: the Cranes, the Lopez-Fitzgeralds, the Bennetts and the Russells, each of whom have their own distinct and diverse personalities. The series debuted on NBC in 1999 and has routinely been amongst the top daytime programs for women ages 18-34, and currently is tied for #1 among all daytime dramas in both women ages 18-24 and females 12-24.

New episodes of Passions will begin shooting in August and will continue to be taped at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, Calif. The show is produced by NBC Universal Television Studio in association with Outpost Farms Productions, Inc.

THE SEARCH IS ON FOR THE NEXT PROJECT MYWORLD ADVENTURE STAR

El Segundo, Calif., April 23, 2007—The search is on! Renee Intlekofer and Shaina Fewell, the stars and co-creators of DIRECTV's hit reality show Project MyWorld, are kicking off a nationwide search in hopes of finding an adventurous female to join them as they head Down Under for the program's second season. Kicking off today, candidates will have two weeks to send in their most outrageous videos before judges from The 101 select finalists for in-person auditions in Los Angeles, with the winner announced on May 18. Details of the search will be available on the show's website: www.myspace.com/projectmyworld.

Following a successful debut season, Renee and Shaina, are about to head out again and need the help of a daring diva to explore the world and meet the real people behind their MySpace pages. The new "Adventure Girl" they are seeking will have to be outrageous and an incredibly well connected MySpacer to join them as they explore the best of Australia and New Zealand. The duties of this fearless, fun and—not afraid to get her hands dirty—lady will be to introduce the group to the exciting death-defying adventures and exotic wonders each city has to offer. Whether it's scuba diving with the predators of the Great Barrier Reef, Zorbing with the Kiwis or heli-skiing in New Zealand, no adventure should be too wild or outrageous for this daredevil.

To qualify, candidates must create a home video of themselves that demonstrates their daring nature and send it to DIRECTV's The 101 Headquarters in Culver City, California. Submissions are due by May 2, at which time a team of judges from The 101, including Shaina and Renee, will review the footage and choose finalists to come to LA for a casting call on May 8 and May 9, with call backs on May 14 and 16. Contenders can also show up to the casting call, without having to submit a video, if they are in the Los Angeles area on May 8 and think they have what it takes to make the cut. The winner will be announced by May 18, giving the new adventure girl plenty of time to do her homework before the trio departs on June 12.

Project MyWorld debuted last October on The 101 as DIRECTV's fourth original series and is part documentary, part international odyssey and part internet experience come to life. Each season follows the stars as they travel the world in search of the real people behind their MySpace pages and set out to fulfill their own personal missions. Shaina is on the look out for the best indie rock bands in each city, while Renee is on the prowl for "Mr. Right," or at least "Mr. Right-Now." The show also chronicles their adventurous cohort as she finds the most amazing experiences each city has to offer.

The inaugural season of Project MyWorld followed Renee, Shaina and the adventure girl from last season, Taryn Southern, as they made their way through Europe and experienced La Tomatina in Spain, Oktoberfest in Germany, romance in Venice, and indie bands in Croatia, Paris and the UK. Now, Renee and Shaina are looking for their next partner-in-crime to push them to the limit as they begin season two.

Staying true to the premise of Project MyWorld, the show's creators and stars, Shaina and Renee, will serve as executive producers while displaying their-own unique personalities for the ultimate in viewer-generated content. The two women will also serve as executive producers and maintain the show's website on MySpace at www.myspace.com/projectmyworld.