MTV Expands Lineup of Documentary Series with New slate of Programming In 2006

NEW YORK, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MTV announced a wide-ranging expansion of News & Docs series production for 2006, following up on the success of such documentary series as veteran groundbreaker True Life. MTV has given the greenlight to three new shows catering to audience's demand for more programming that presents an honest and accurate portrayal of young people's lives.

"Our audience has responded strongly to programs that cover the social issues, lifestyle trends, and everything in between that affect young people's lives," says Dave Sirulnick, Executive Vice President, MTV Multiplatform Production, News and Music. "In the same spirit of True Life, the new line-up uniquely tells the stories of young people from their personal points of view."

The critically-acclaimed MTV News & Docs staple True Life continues to perform well after 8 years on air. The last cycle of True Life episodes (December 15, 2005 -- January 26, 2006) reached more than 65 million viewers. Among viewers P12-34, the series outpaced its last by 15% and the season ranked #1 in its time period. In fact, last cycle's True Life: I Have OCD was the highest-rated episode of True Life ever.

MTV News & Docs programs slated to premiere go inside the experiences of young people navigating through a juvenile detention and justice center at the hands of a no-nonsense judge, the competitive world of high school football and its implications for young players in a small Southern town, and the cutthroat realm of beauty pageantry and the motivations of their contestants. These programs include:

MTV Juvies -- Summer 2006 -- 8 episodes, 1hr

This gritty and tense documentary illustrates what happens when kids, who have never had a brush with the law, find out their choices have real consequences. Through exclusive State Supreme Court access to the Lake County Juvenile Center in Indiana, MTV Juvies depicts what happens to first time offenders during their stay at the detention center, and offers an unprecedented look inside the courtroom, where their lives and their future are at the hands of a sole judge who will determine their sentence. Created By: Lily Neumeyer, Karen Grau, Bill Hussung; Executive Producers: Dave Sirulnick, Lily Neumeyer; Karen Grau/ Bill Hussung (Calamari Productions); Kevin Dill (Dill Entertainment)

Two-A-Days [working title] -- Summer 2006 -- 8 episodes, 30 mins

This documentary series follows the highly-ranked Hoover High School Bucaneers of Hoover, Alabama, through their high school football season. The Bucs are nationally ranked and chasing their fourth consecutive state championship title. But in Alabama, communities take their football extremely seriously, and the players are living under tremendous pressure to earn a football scholarship, win a championship ring -- not to mention the demands of girlfriends, parents, and teachers. Executive Producers: Dave Sirulnick, Amy Bailey; Co-Executive Producers: Jason Sciavicco, Jesse Dupree

Tiara Girls -- April 19, 2006 -- 8 Episodes, 30 mins

Tiara Girls documents the lives of beauty pageant contestants -- the stories of young women as they prepare and train for competition -- shopping for their sometimes outrageously expensive wardrobes, training their bodies and even hiring special coaches for interviews and presentation. Find out what motivates these young women, the often significant role that parents play in guiding their children's aspirations, how they deal with victory or loss, and explore their ultimate goals in living the life of a tiara girl. Executive Producers: Dave Sirulnick, Marshall Eisen, and Kimberly Belcher Cowin; Series Producer: Mary Jaras; Producers: Stephanie Bond, Patricia Chica, Brooke Gaston, Anne Russell

Each episode of MTV Juvies, Two-A-Days [wt], and Tiara Girls will be followed by a program aftershow on MTV Overdrive, the network's broadband channel (overdrive.mtv.com).

In addition to new series, hit MTV News & Docs series return with all-new episodes. True Life beings a new cycle of 5 episodes on Wednesday, February 22, 2006, My Super Sweet 16 will have 7 new episodes premiering on April 12, 2006 and Cribs will premiere new episodes in spring 2006.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 100 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 95 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.