Crowing about ratings growth for the year, ABC Family made a slew of programming announcements on Thursday (Feb.2), including a drama renewal, a comedy order, a new reality series and a holiday-themed original.
The centerpiece of the ABC Family release was the fifth season renewal for “The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” which will carry the drama past its 100th episode and will keep Golden Globe nominated star Shailene Woodley under the network’s lock-and-key for the foreseeable future.
“The Secret Life of the American Teenager” was already set to return to continue its fourth season with new episodes starting on Monday, March 26 at 8 p.m. ET.
“We’re very proud of our deep bench of original content successfully built out over eight years of exceptional growth,” states ABC Family President Michael Riley. “This Summer, we”re excited to continue to expand our content across key genres adding another season to our groundbreaking drama, ‘Secret Life,’ wonderful comedy and a return to reality programming as we continue to innovate with our ABC Family brand.”
On the comedy front, ABC Family has ordered “Baby Daddy,” a multi-cam about a young man who is surprised when his ex-girlfriend leaves a baby girl at his doorstep, forcing him to raise the baby with the help of a random assortment of friends and relatives. Chelsea Kane, Tahj Mowry and Derek Theler star. “Baby Daddy” will begin production this spring, shooting in front of a live audience in Los Angeles.
ABC Family has also ordered the docuseries “Beverly Hills Nannies,” an entirely self-explanatory series from “Real Housewives” producer Evolution media.
Finally, ABC Family has set “The Mistle-Tones” to anchor its 25 Days of Christmas event for 2012, beginning production on the telefilm, starring Tori Spelling and Tia Mowry, later this month in Utah.
Blurbs Kate Juergens, executive vice president, Original Programming and Development, ABC Family, “Our line-up continues to resonate with our audience and we believe that the new programming will become strong additions to our slate. This new crop of shows blends nicely with our current schedule and will continue to deliver on our promise to create shows that our fans find engaging, optimistic and relatable.”