THIS JUST IN�
�From UPN
LOS ANGELES, April 4 -- On Tuesday, April 26, UPN's hit comedy EVE (8:30-9:00 PM, ET/PT on UPN), starring Grammy Award-winning hip hop sensation Eve as Shelly, will feature a storyline in which Shelly and her close circle of mostly-single friends in Miami Beach, Fla. get tested for HIV/AIDS.
Last Fall, EVE's producers came up with the idea for the episode following a panel discussion hosted by KNOW HIV/AIDS, as part of an ongoing Peabody and Emmy Award-winning partnership with Viacom and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Marteniz Brown, a 24-year-old man who was diagnosed with HIV at the age of 18, was a member of the panel. Brown has turned his personal tragedy into an opportunity to provide support and guidance to HIV-infected youth at the Division of Adolescent Medicine Project at the Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit. Brown's incredible work with HIV-positive teens inspired the producers to develop an HIV-positive character, who is living life to the fullest.
Before they take their relationship to the next level, Shelly's new boyfriend Grant (Sharif Atkins, "ER") convinces Shelly to get tested. This decision sparks Shelly's friends to join her in support. At the clinic, the gang nervously receives information and counseling from Nurse LaDonna (Golden Brooks, UPN's GIRLFRIENDS) and clinic counselor Roderick (Marteniz Brown, a HIV/AIDS educator from Detroit), while waiting for their test results.
This episode was written by Beverly D. Hunter and directed by Leonard R. Garner, Jr. Robert Greenblatt and David Janollari (UPN's ONE ON ONE, "Platinum" and "Six Feet Under") are executive producers. Meg DeLoatch (UPN's ONE ON ONE) is the creator, executive producer and a writer. Eve, Troy Carter and Dave Duclon are co-executive producers. EVE is a production of The Greenblatt Janollari Studio in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.
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