The N Announces the Commencement of Production on a New Original Drama The Best Years (Working Title) Produced by Blueprint Entertainment in Association With CanWest MediaWorks
Award-Winning Degrassi Writer Aaron Martin to Create / Executive Produce 13
Hour-Long Episodes Scheduled to Premiere in the US and Canada - Summer 2007
NEW YORK, Nov. 9 -- The N takes a collegiate step forward
as the nighttime network for teens announces the commencement of production
on 13 new, hour-long episodes of The Best Years (working title), it was
announced today by Sarah Tomassi Lindman, Vice President, Programming and
Production, The N. The new drama is produced by Blueprint Entertainment in
association with Canada's CanWest MediaWorks. Production has begun in
Toronto and will extend through March 2007.
The Best Years is created and executive produced by Aaron Martin who
served as head writer and show runner of The N's famed teen drama Degrassi:
The Next Generation. Blueprint Entertainment's Noreen Halpern and John
Morayniss will also serve as executive producers on The Best Years. The
series is scheduled to premiere in the summer of 2007 on The N in the US
and on CH Television in Canada.
"The Best Years will introduce our audience to the real-life drama of
college life, including the excitement and pressures that come with new
found independence," said Lindman. "Aaron Martin has a proven track record
at writing compelling dramas like Degrassi and this show is sure to follow
his past success."
"This is a dream cast, hand-picked from across Canada and the United
States, playing 'bright young things' as they navigate the social
wilderness of university life. Whether you're looking ahead to your college
years, or looking back on them fondly ... The Best Years takes you from
toga parties to all-nighters, and from freshman romances to finding that
one person who just might be the love of your life," says creator /
executive producer Aaron Martin.
"Aaron Martin has created a wonderfully smart, sexy and exciting
series. Through the lead character, Samantha Best we are thrown into the
first year of college and all of the wildness inherent in that," says
Halpern. "By the end of the first episode, viewers will all wish they could
hang out at this campus."
"Great writing, a stellar production team and top-notch talent make The
Best Years a sparkling addition to our original programming roster," said
Christine Shipton, Vice President of Original Programming for CanWest
MediaWorks. "This edgy, young series will draw audiences in with storylines
covering all of the drama, thrills and challenges of college life."
The Best Years follows orphaned and full-ride scholar, Samantha Best
(Charity Shea, "Alpha Dog") as she starts her freshman year at the
prestigious Charles University in Massachusetts. Samantha has been shuffled
through the foster care system her entire life and is finally looking
forward to a future of new opportunities and friendships. She'll have to
contend with the in's and out's of college and mingle with a new world of
'frenemies' as she struggles to find her own identity. Along the way she
will meet new roommate Kathryn Klarner, (Jennifer Miller) a rich socialite
from one of the most prominent families in the mid-west, Dawn Vargas
(Athena Karkanis) child actor who trades in Hollywood for university, and
Devon Sylver, (Brandon Jay McLaren "She's The Man") a fellow scholarship
recipient and star basketball player who has caught her eye. With her new
dysfunctional family and a part-time job at Boston's hot spot, Colony,
Samantha will find herself juggling a lot more than just academics.
Aaron Martin served as the head writer and show runner on The N's
acclaimed teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation during its first four
seasons and was the 2004 recipient of the Canadian Screenwriting Award for
his work on the series. He was also nominated for a 2003 Gemini Award for
Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Series and also in 2005 for Best
Drama. He is a graduate of The Canadian Film Centre and Queen's University.
In addition to producing, Blueprint Entertainment controls distribution
rights for the series in all territories outside the US.
Blueprint Entertainment is a television production company involved in
the development, production, financing, packaging and exploitation of
dynamic and innovative programming for the North American and International
marketplace. Established in January of 2002, by its two principals, John
Morayniss and Noreen Halpern, Blueprint Entertainment is a Canadian company
with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto. Blueprint has an extensive
development slate that encompasses a number of half-hour and one-hour
prime- time and children's series, movies, and miniseries targeted at a mix
of broadcast and cable/satellite networks based in the US, Canada and the
international marketplace. http://www.blueprint-corp.com.
CanWest MediaWorks Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CanWest Global
Communications Corp, (CanWest) (NYSE: CWG; TSX: CGS and CGS.A,
http://www.canwestglobal.com). CanWest, an international media company, is
Canada's largest media company. In addition to owning the Global Television
Network, CanWest is Canada's largest publisher of daily newspapers, and
also owns, operates and/or holds substantial interests in conventional
television, out- of-home advertising, specialty cable channels and Web
sites in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Turkey, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The N, the nighttime network for teens, is a programming arm of MTV
Networks and is currently available in 52 million households via cable,
digital cable and satellite television. The N's mission is to be the
authentic voice for teens and help them figure out their lives with
relevant, topical programming on-air and online at the network's web site
http://www.the-n.com. The N airs everyday from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (ET). The N
and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom
International Inc.
SOURCE The N
http://www.the-n.com
http://www.nick.com
http://www.canwestglobal.com
http://www.blueprint-corp.com
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