Freeform Announces MARVEL'S CLOAK & DAGGER Panel For First Ever Freeform Summit

Freeform, Disney's young adult television network, announced today the latest additions to the "Freeform Summit," a first-time event for the network, featuring a series of panel discussions addressing activism, social change, representation in television and various other important issues defining modern youth culture today. Joining THE LINEUP is the highly anticipated television series "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger," in the panel "From Comics to Screen - Creating 'Marvel's Cloak & Dagger.'" Summit attendees will screen an extended, never-before-seen, first look clip from the premiere episode of the series. The network also announced live musical performances by Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records artists, and stars of breakout hit "grown-ish," Chloe x Halle, Gold-certified RCA rapper and record producer Kid Ink, and a DJ set by DJ Gabriel Diggs to close out the event.

FROM COMICS TO SCREEN - CREATING "MARVEL'S CLOAK & DAGGER"
It used to be that you would read a comic book and transport yourself to a place that you fantasized being a part of. Today's television viewing has created long-lasting opportunities for those fantasies to become real, with fan-favorite comic book properties that we grew up with becoming mainstream, appointment entertainment. Stories that we know and love are now brought to our many screens, but how do you ensure that the monumental characters are accurately portrayed? How do you take those characters that were created over 20 years ago and translate their intimate journeys for today's viewer, when those characters were created in a different social landscape? And are those journeys necessarily so different now than they were then? Join the producing team behind "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger" and series stars for a discussion about creating "Cloak" aka "Tandy Bowen" and "Dagger" aka "Tyrone Johnson" - a pair of young adults navigating a world of complexity, separating from parents, creating relationships and forming their own identities. While many of these challenges sound familiar, our young heroes have newly discovered superpowers that only make their journeys more complicated...

"Marvel's Cloak & Dagger" is a coming-of-age series based on the beloved comic characters and is co-produced by Marvel Television and ABC Signature Studios.

Moderated by Alicia Lutes, Managing Editor, @Nerdist and Host, #Fangirling
Panel participants will include:
Jeph Loeb (EP, Marvel's Head of Television)
Gina Prince-Bythewood (Director, "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger")
Olivia Holt ("Marvel's Cloak & Dagger")
Aubrey Joseph ("Marvel's Cloak & Dagger")
Joe Pokaski (EP, "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger")

The "Freeform Summit," taking place THURSDAY, JAN. 18 at NeueHouse Hollywood, includes talent, executives, showrunners and directors across multiple series spotlighting the brand new 2018 programming lineup including, but not limited to, "grown-ish," "Siren" and "Alone Together," as well as fan-favorite shows including "The Bold Type," "The Fosters" and more. The summit will also feature key influencers, tastemakers and pop culture titans who are embracing and effecting cultural change through storytelling, mentorship and engagement. The format of the summit is guided by Freeform's identity, which continues to set itself apart from other content platforms by delivering stories that celebrate the power, possibility and inclusivity of youth culture - stories that are bold, sophisticated, inspirational, culturally significant and most importantly, on the pulse of young adult life.

Previously announced panels include:

MILLENNIALS ARE DESTROYING ALL THE INDUSTRIES
Every day, millennials are blamed for the end of times. They've been accused of singlehandedly killing entire industries with their bare hands. First, they came after music. Then, they ruined dating. Then, they did away with face-to-face interaction and now they're coming after our TVs. "Experts" have called them everything from self-centered and lazy to spoiled and entitled - but the truth is, they're saving the world. Today's young adult is leveraging technology to disrupt fundraising, demanding transparency from our government, challenging gender stereotypes, modernizing the retail segment and breaking down traditional organizational norms. Join the "everyday changemakers" of today for a discussion about effecting change and making a difference through storytelling, social connection and creativity.

Moderated by Ariana Romero, Entertainment Writer @Refinery29
Panel participants will include:
Kenya Barris (Executive Producer, Freeform's "grown-ish")
Yara Shahidi (Actress and Activist; Star of Freeform's "grown-ish")
Karlie Kloss (Model, Coder and Entrepreneur; Star of Freeform's "Movie Night with Karlie Kloss")
Katie Stevens (Star of Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Karey Burke (Executive Vice President, Programming & Development, Freeform)
Elaine Welteroth (Former Editor in Chief, teenVOGUE)
Katherine Power (Co-Founder and CEO of Clique)
Luvvie Ajayi (Author of New York Times Best Seller "I'm Judging You," Speaker and Digital Strategist)
Rhonesha Byng (Award-winning Journalist and Founder of Her Agenda)

UNDERSTANDING AND CULTIVATING LOVE ON AND OFF SCREEN
Thirty years ago, Murphy Brown disrupted the social and political norms, giving voice to a baby boomer generation of women who saw themselves in her character - as PIONEERS in their fields, but still having to conform to domestic responsibilities. A decade later, Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte didn't just date, sip cosmos and talk about men... They were examples of the powerful women in the workforce who were no longer settling on marriage and no longer being boxed into the "sad fate" of single, female characters on television. Here we are in 2018 where everything is instantaneous - we can get a cab, groceries, take out, a date and even sex by the swipe of our fingertips. But love isn't instant. It's not a simple "like" or "tap" and doesn't always look perfect. How do our current and future television heroes and heroines provide a real-life portrayal of what it's like to grow in life and love in today's hyper-connected world? How do you correctly create and showcase the complexity of merging career, love and sex without sacrificing one over the other? And how can our male counterparts contribute to the rise of the empowered female?

Moderated by Kirbie Johnson, Host and Producer @POPSUGAR
Panel participants will include:
Joanna Coles (Chief Content Officer, Hearst; Author of "Love Rules;" Executive Producer, Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Melora Hardin (Star of Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Esther Povitsky (Actor and Comedian; Co-Creator and Star, Freeform's "Alone Together")
Benji Aflalo (Actor and Comedian; Co-Creator and Star of Freeform's "Alone Together")
Marlene King (Executive Producer, Freeform's "Pretty Little Liars," "Famous in Love," "The Perfectionists")
Joanna Johnson (Executive Producer, Freeform's "The Fosters")
Meghann Fahy (Star of Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Trevor Jackson (Musician and Star of Freeform's "grown-ish")
Sophia Rivka Rossi (Co-Founder of HelloGiggles)

EXPLORING THE NARRATIVE WITHOUT EXPLOITING IT
In the last few years, television and film have aimed to include members across the LGBTQ alphabet. From first kiss to first marriage, from reality to scripted, narratives of gay, lesbian, bi, trans and non-binary gender are popping up in some very UNEXPECTED places. From Asia Kate Dillon's non-binary character on "Billions" to Elliot Fletcher's ground breaking trans sex scene on "The Fosters," television is continuing to push the boundaries and open a dialogue with their audience. Not only are actors portraying an often overlooked community, but viewers are seeing them in situations never seen on television before. But to what point are we exploiting a narrative for buzz? How do you create a holistic depiction of a character's path for the average viewer to understand without discounting the authentic journey of the individual? Does the rise of online platforms where members of all communities are able to create powerful voices for themselves and others help hold the entertainment industry accountable?

Moderated by Phillip Picardi, Chief Content Officer @teenVOGUE and Chief Content Officer @them.
Panel participants will include:
Amanda Lasher (Executive Producer, Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Peter Paige (Co-Creator and Executive Producer, Freeform's "The Fosters")
Bradley Bredeweg (Co-Creator and Executive Producer, Freeform's "The Fosters")
Aisha Dee (Star of Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Nikohl Boosheri (Star of Freeform's "The Bold Type")
Eline Powell (Star of Freeform's upcoming drama, "Siren")
Elliot Fletcher (Star of Freeform's "The Fosters")
Shan Boodram (Sexologist and Author)
Patrick Starrr (Beauty Business Expert & Global Beauty Influencer)

*All panels and panelists subject to change

Freeform's slate of new scripted original series for 2018 includes critically-acclaimed new comedies "grown-ish" and "Alone Together," the much-buzzed-about mermaid thriller, "Siren," and the eagerly awaited drama, "Marvel's Cloak & Dagger." The network's current slate includes 2017 breakout hit, "The Bold Type," paranormal thriller "Beyond," "Famous In Love" starring Bella Thorne, critically acclaimed "The Fosters," supernatural phenomenon "Shadowhunters" and fan favorite comedy "Young & Hungry."

About FreeForm
Part of Disney|ABC Television, FreeForm connects to audiences and goes beyond entertainment with bold original programming and immersive social engagement. As Disney's young adult television and streaming network, it delivers a unique mix of quality original and acquired series, plus fan-favorite movies and the holiday events "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas." The FreeForm app allows viewers access to 24/7 live viewing of the network, as well as continued on-demand access via a wide array of devices.

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