FROM BRENDA HAMPTON, CREATOR OF "7TH HEAVEN," COMES A BOLD NEW DRAMA SERIES THAT TAKES A UNIQUE LOOK INSIDE "THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER"

New ABC Family Original Series Premieres Tuesday, July 1 Starring Shailene Woodley as Amy, a pregnant teenager, And Molly Ringwald as her mother

Burbank, CA (June 3, 2008) � From ABC Family and Brenda Hampton, creator of "7th Heaven," comes a heartfelt one hour drama entitled "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," that focuses on the relationships between families and friends and how they deal with an unexpected teen pregnancy.

ABC Family's new original series, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" premieres Tuesday, July 1 (8:00 � 9:00 p.m. ET/PT) .

The series boasts an incredible cast of characters played by Shailene Woodley ("The O.C.") as Amy, Molly Ringwald ("The Breakfast Club") as Anne, Mark Derwin ("The Bonnie Hunt Show") as George, newcomer India Eisley as Ashley, Kenny Baumann ("Eli Stone") as Ben, newcomer Daren Kagasoff as Ricky, Francia Raisa ("Cutting Edge 3") as Adrian, Megan Park ("Life with Derek") as Grace, Greg Finley ("Cold Case") as Jack and Jorge�Luis Pallo ("Navy NCIS") as Mark. John Schneider ("Smallville") as Marshall and Josie Bissett ("Melrose Place") as Kathleen will also guest star.

As the creator of the longest running family drama, Hampton brings an honest and relatable voice to the issues that teens and their parents face every day across America. Within the series, the family unit is represented in several forms � from the typical family of four � both functioning and dysfunctional � to a single parent home and a teen in foster care. Additionally, the teen viewpoint is also represented from a diverse group of characters.

But in every high school, there runs a common thread of self expression and discovery as every teen begins to make their own decisions. In the process, they will learn to face both the rewards and the consequences. This bold new drama tells the story of one American teenager and her journey though an unexpected pregnancy -- a journey that clearly affects everyone around her.

After returning home from summer band camp, Amy discovers that she is pregnant after having sex for the first time with Ricky, who is known school wide as a player. Afraid to tell her parents � or even accept the truth herself � she turns to her two best friends, Lauren and Madison, for support. In fact, her parents are so distracted with their own marital issues, as well as, dealing with Amy's little sister, Ashley, who is the more rebellious of the sisters, they don't even notice what is going on with Amy.

To complicate matters, Amy finds herself being pursued by Ben, a sweet guy who joins the band just to be near her and falls for Amy very quickly. But what will happen when he finds out the truth about Amy?

Meanwhile, Grace, the school's most popular cheerleader, makes a promise to her Christian parents to uphold her commitment to abstinence. But her boyfriend, Jack, isn't sure he will be able to wait, especially when she tells him she doesn't want to get married until after medical school. Enter Adrian, the majorette, who is more than willing to help ease Jack's tension, but Adrian's true intention is to win over Ricky and he, of course, has his own agenda � and a troubled past.

Other recurring characters are played by Ernie Hudson ("Ghostbusters") as Dr. Fields, Steve Schirripa ("The Sopranos") as Leo, Camille Winbush ("The Bernie Mac Show") as Lauren, Renee Olstead ("Still Standing") as Madison, Allen Evangelista("Zoey 101") as Henry, Amy Rider ("Big Shots") as Alice and Luke Zimmerman ("Daughter of the Streets") as Tom, Grace's brother who has down's syndrome.

ABC Family is pleased to be collaborating with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy on the development of online content which will offer teens and parents various ways to explore, discuss and learn about show-related themes. To find out more, visit http://www.TheNationalCampaign.org.

Part of the Disney-ABC-TV Group, ABC Family, distributed in over 95 million homes, features original movies, series and specials reflecting today's families and entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today's relationships, all told with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a mix of quality acquired series and theatricals as well as original movies and scripted dramas. ABC Family is also the destination for Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas" branded programming events. ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.