NBC Announces MTV "quarterlife" partnership; Show to Premiere February 26

NBC Announces MTV "quarterlife" partnership; Show to Premiere February 26 2/14/08

NBC AND MTV ANNOUNCE UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP FOR HIGHLY ANTICIPATED INTERNET SERIES ‘QUARTERLIFE’ TO RUN 22-MINUTE SNEAK PEEK ON MTV PRIOR TO NBC’S PREMIERE

'QUARTERLIFE' PREMIERES ON NBC FEBRUARY 26 AND AIRS IN ITS REGULAR TIMESLOT ON SUNDAYS (9-10 P.M. ET) BEGINNING MARCH 2

BURBANK - February 14, 2008 -- NBC has formed a unique deal with MTV to run a 22-minute sneak peek of the critically acclaimed Internet series "quarterlife" on the cable network on Tuesday, February 26 at 4:30 p.m. PT/ET, following MTV's 'TRL.' The original drama series from Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick ("My So-Called Life," "thirtysomething" and "Blood Diamond") will premiere on NBC on Tuesday, February 26 (10-11 p.m. ET) and air on Sundays (9-10 p.m. ET) beginning March 2.

The announcements were made by Ben Silverman, Co-Chairman, NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios and Tony DiSanto, Executive Vice President of Series Development & Programming for MTV.

MTV will air 22 minutes from the premiere one-hour episode. NBC will also supply MTV with promotional spots and snipes for inclusion in the preview.

Herskovitz and Zwick's relationship with MTV extends back to their earlier, critically hailed drama series "My So-Called Life," starring Claire Danes, which enjoyed renewed popularity and achieved cult status after its initial network run when it was re-broadcast on MTV in the mid-1990s.

"This innovative deal with MTV provides the perfect promotional platform and social cache for the kind of series that 'quarterlife' represents," said Silverman. "This is a mutually beneficial arrangement that gives viewers of both networks an opportunity to sample a show we feel they will clearly identify with. We know Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick have had a successful history with MTV for 'My So Called Life,' so it makes sense for us to reach this audience for 'quarterlife.'"

"MTV is all about taking risks and reinvention -- revolutionizing the creative and programming models for content," said DiSanto. "This partnership with NBC is an exciting new step in synergistic programming across networks. MTV gets the first-time sneak peek of this new scripted series before anyone else on television, and NBC gets to tap into the powerful target audience that only the MTV brand can deliver."

"We're thrilled to have NBC's outstanding support and excited about Ben Silverman's plans to put 'quarterlife' in front of as many people as possible," said series co-creator Marshall Herskovitz. "We also couldn't be happier about working with MTV again - they were the network that resurrected 'My So-Called Life,' for which we will always be grateful. We're eager for MTV viewers to rally once again behind a very talented young cast and become addicted to 'quarterlife.'"

"quarterlife" is the first network-quality series that was produced first for the Internet. Known for their incisive portrayals of relationships and experience during life's key passages, Herskovitz and Zwick take on the crucial years between 20 and 30 in "quarterlife," when so many of life's important decisions are made. "quarterlife" tells the ongoing stories of six creative people in their twenties. As with Herskovitz and Zwick's earlier series, at the center of "quarterlife" is a commitment to realism and the recognition of universal human themes through the truthful depiction of the way young people speak, work, think, love, argue, and just have fun.

The cast stars Bitsie Tulloch as Dylan ("Lonelygirl15," "Lost," "The West Wing"), Maite Schwartz as Lisa ("Medium," "Dexter," "House of Grimm"), Scott Michael Foster as Jed ("Greek," "The Horrible Flowers"), David Walton as Danny ("Heist," "Cracking Up"), Michelle Lombardo as Debra ("Click," "Entourage," "October Road"), Kevin Christy as Andy ("Love Don't Cost a Thing"), and Barret Swatek as Brittany ("Seventh Heaven," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin").

Starting with Dylan (Tulloch), a young woman whose overly truthful video blog (on quarterlife.com of course) spills the closest secrets of her friends, the show's characters - filmmakers Danny (Walton) and Jed (Foster), actress-bartender Lisa (Schwartz), geek-extraordinaire Andy (Christy), and still-tied-to-her-parents Debra (Lombardo) - chart the sometimes excruciating, sometimes comic, often emotional experiences that comprise coming of age in the 21st century.

"quarterlife" initially launched on MyspaceTV.com and on quarterlife.com in November 2007. quarterlife.com is home to an accompanying social network devoted to facilitating the same coming of age as the series.