Television
January 5, 2005
ABC Family Acquires 25 Original Never-Before-Seen Episodes Of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” In Deal With Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution
(January 5, 2005 - Burbank, CA) — ABC Family has acquired 25 original never-before-seen episodes of the Emmy-nominated series “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” as part of extending its exclusive multi-year off-network rights with Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution (WBDCD) announced today by Paul Lee, president, ABC Family, and Eric Frankel, president, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution. ABC Family will begin airing the never-before-seen episodes January 17 at 8:00 and 9:00 PM ET/PT.
"'Whose Line' is a continual strong performer with a loyal audience for ABC Family," said Tom Zappala, SVP, program acquisitions and scheduling, ABC Family. "These never-before-seen episodes will be exciting for our viewers and give us a great opportunity to showcase them."
“It’s not that often that we are able to offer our off-net clients original series,” said Frankel. “What a great coup for fans of the series to have the opportunity to see fresh episodes of this very unique series on ABC Family.”
"Whose Line" began airing on ABC Family in January of 2002, and airs weekdays at 10:00 PM and 10:30 PM ET/PT. "Whose Line" has continually increased in household rating since its premiere and for 2004 to-date is posting a 0.9 HH rating.
Emmy-nominated "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" is the first of its kind and a completely unique concept to television. Host Drew Carey sets the scene, while contributions from the audience and four talented actors wreak hilarious havoc, as they instantly invent unrehearsed skits, games or songs, relying only on their quick wit and improvisational skills. It’s genuinely improvised, so anything can happen – and often does!
Along with Carey, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Emmy-nominated Wayne Brady and a rotating roster of actor/comedians improvise their way through the half-hour of non-stop laughs. Recurring performers include Greg Proops, Brad Sherwood, Chip Esten and Kathy Greenwood.
Dan Patterson, Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles, Denise O’Donoghue and Jimmy Mulville are the executive producers of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?." Mark Leveson is co-executive producer. The show was created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, and is produced by Riverside Productions, Inc., in association with Hat Trick Productions, LTD, and distributed by Warner Bros. Television.
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