UPN Orders a Full Season of Everybody Hates Chris  10/5/05

UPN ORDERS A FULL SEASON OF CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED COMEDY  "EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS"

UPN has given a full season order to the critically acclaimed new comedy hit EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, from Paramount Network Television and inspired by the childhood experiences of comedian Chris Rock, who serves as executive producer and narrator of the series, it was announced today by Dawn Ostroff, President, UPN.

"The early ratings results for EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS have been very encouraging, and we're thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response that we continue to get from the press, the advertisers, the creative community and our viewers," said Ostroff. "We're now in production on our 11th episode, and from what we've seen and read, this wonderful series maintains its incredibly high-standard of quality and the best days still lie ahead."

The series premiere of EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS launched out of the gate as the highest rated episode of any comedy in the history of the network, helping UPN successfully established a new night of series programming on Thursday. Through the first two weeks of the season, CHRIS ranks third in the time period among adults 18-34 and adults 18-49. Additionally, CHRIS has scored impressive growth at 8pm in key demos, including 93% in adults 18-34, 100% in adults 18-49, 191% in women 18-34, 230% in women 18-49 and 82%in viewers. As the only network with a two-hour comedy block on Thursday, UPN has improved the night by 19% in adults 18-34, 13% in adults 18-49, 92% in women 18-34 and 120% in women 18-49.

Narrated by comedian Chris Rock and inspired by his childhood experiences, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS tells the hilarious, touching story of a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980's. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his siblings in line at home and surmounting the challenges of junior high. This responsible, resilient adolescent brings a distinct, funny spin to his everyday trials and traumas.

The single-camera comedy series stars Tichina Arnold (UPN's ONE ON ONE) as Rochelle, Terry Crews ("The Longest Yard") as Julius, Tyler James Williams ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") as Chris, Tequan Richmond ("Ray") as Drew, Imani Hakim as Tonya and Vincent Martella ("Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo") as Greg.

Co-creator and narrator Chris Rock ("Head of State"), co-creator and writer Ali LeRoi ("Head of State"), Howard Gewirtz ("Oliver Beene"), Michael Rotenberg ("The Chris Rock Show") and Dave Becky ("The Hugleys") are executive producers. EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS is a production of Chris Rock Enterprises, Inc., in association with Paramount Network Television.

-- UPN --