ABC Family Greenlights Original Reality Series THE LETTER

As part of the network's reality expansion, ABC Family has greenlit THE LETTER to series. It was announced today by Karey Burke, executive vice president, Programming & Development. The series begins production in 2016 and comes from Sirens Media. ABC Family is becoming Freeform in January 2016.

"When your best friends tell you what you 'really need to hear,' it can be very emotional - whether hurtful, helpful, kind or hopeful," said Burke. "All these emotions and transformations are explored in our explosive new reality series, 'The Letter'."

"The Letter" is a bold, new relationship show that asks the simple question: "If you could, without identifying yourself, what would you tell your best friend that he or she really needed to hear?" In each stand-alone episode, four people close to one another draw names and anonymously write to the selected person a thoughtful yet totally honest letter outlining what, in their opinion, needs to be changed in order to improve and transform for the better the life of the recipient. For one week, each "reader" must follow all the rules and instructions outlined in the letter - culminating in a dramatic and emotionally charged meeting where the authors of each letter reveal themselves to their best friends.

The show pickup comes on the heels of the network greenlighting season two of the docuseries "Monica the Medium," following 22-year-old Monica Ten-Kate, a college student who speaks to the dead.

"The Letter" is produced by Sirens Media, part of Leftfield Entertainment, an ITV America company. Executive producers for Sirens Media are Rebecca Toth Diefenbach, Valerie Haselton and Lucilla D'Agostino.

About Sirens Media
Sirens Media was founded in 2005 by Co-Presidents Rebecca Toth Diefenbach and Valerie Haselton, and has produced hundreds of hours of innovative, bold, and compelling top-rated programming for the major cable networks. Sirens is best known for producing powerhouse reality series "Real Housewives of New Jersey" for Bravo. The series has repeatedly broken ratings records for the network and remains in the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. Sirens' successful, longstanding partnership with Discovery ID currently boasts seven series on the air for the network, including "House of Horrors," "Evil Kin," "Nightmare Next Door" and "Hell House." Other current Sirens credits include RHONJ spinoff series "Manzo'd with Children" (Bravo), "Thicker Than Water" (Bravo), "For My Man" (tvOne), and upcoming true crime series "Killing Fields" for Discovery Channel. In 2013, Sirens became part of Leftfield Entertainment (an ITV America company).

About Leftfield Entertainment
Founded by producer and CEO Brent Montgomery in 2013, Leftfield Entertainment produces compelling content across various programming genres, including reality, docu-series, lifestyle programming, documentary and competition. Anchored by flagship production company Leftfield Pictures ("Pawn Stars"), the Leftfield Entertainment group also includes Sirens Media ("The Real Housewives of New Jersey"), Loud TV ("Tiny House Nation"), Outpost Entertainment ("Forged in Fire") and Riot Creative. ITV acquired Leftfield Entertainment in May 2014.

About ABC Family
Part of the Disney|ABC Television Group, ABC Family (to be renamed Freeform in January 2016) is distributed in 94 million homes. The network entertains and connects to audiences with bold, relatable programming that celebrates the epic adventure of becoming an adult, from first kiss to first kid. The programming is a combination of network-defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. "WATCH ABC Family" (also to be renamed Freeform in January 2016) is an authenticated service which allows viewers with participating TV subscription services access to 24/7 live viewing of the network, as well as continued on-demand access to such popular series at home and on-the-go via a wide array of devices. The network is also the destination for annual holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas."

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