MTV's 'Coming Out' to Premiere 11/11

MTV goes inside the lives of two young people during a life altering time in "Coming Out," a special airing on National Coming Out Day, Tuesday, October 11 at 7PM ET/PT. "Coming Out" is an intimate and personal journey that chronicles the final steps of the coming out process of two remarkable, young people: Rachael, a 21-year old lesbian from Sacramento and Nevin, a 20-year old African American collegiate all-star athlete in Ohio.

The LGBT community has made major strides recently and garnered even more mainstream acceptance with the recent repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York. However, the act of coming out continues to be a profoundly difficult experience for many. For many years, MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions have been telling compelling and honest stories of the LGBT community, allowing young adults to be themselves - not only on National Coming Out Day, but every day. "Coming Out" reveals the anxiety, pain, and exhilaration of coming face-to-face with your own sexuality as Rachael and Nevin determine if their friends, family and peers will ultimately accept them for who they are.

"MTV has a history of airing diverse, boundary-pushing documentaries that give viewers a window into the lives of young people as they face intense moments of transformation," said Lauren Dolgen, SVP Series Development, MTV. " 'Coming Out' explores the realities LGBT youth face as they take this major life step, and reminds us all that it's OK to be true to who you are no matter what."

"For many gay teens and young adults, coming out to parents or friends is the final step in accepting and celebrating who they are. We're excited to share the journey of two such young people with MTV's viewers, and we're excited to have such a distinguished film-maker as Lee Hirsch, the director of the 'The Bully Project,' produce it," says Jonathan Murray, Chairman of Bunim/Murray Productions.

To learn more about coming out and other LGBT issues, head to act.mtv.com for resources. The Trevor Project, known for providing life-saving and life-affirming resources for young teens, is also supporting this important initiative by making its lifeline available to viewers at www.trevorproject.org and 866-488-7386.

National Coming Out Day is a day in which lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender people celebrate their sexual orientation and the growing presence of the gay community. Workshops, rallies, speak-outs and events are all aimed at showing the public that LGBT people are everywhere. October 11 became a day that encourages LGBT people to come out and be honest about themselves; specifically October 11 to mark the march on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987 which half a million people participated in.

Jonathan Murray, Gil Goldshein, Sasha Alpert, and Scott Freeman of Bunim/Murray Productions and Lee Hirsch serve as Executive Producers for "Coming Out." The concept was created by Preston Charles from "The Real World: New Orleans," and Shannon Mechutan. Lauren Dolgen and Andrew Perry are the MTV executives overseeing the project.

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About MTV

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

About Bunim-Murray Productions

Bunim/Murray Productions is the leading producer of innovative entertainment content. The Emmy Award-winning company is widely credited with creating the reality television genre with its hit series The Real World (26 seasons for MTV). Bunim/Murray continued to innovate with the first reality game show, Road Rules (MTV), in 1995; the first reality sitcom, The Simple Life (E!), in 2003; and the first reality soap opera, Starting Over, in 2003. Bunim/Murray's current programming includes The Bad Girls Club and Love Games (Oxygen), Keeping up with the Kardashians, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, Kim and Kourtney Take New York and Khloe and Lamar (E!), The Real World/Road Rules Challenge (MTV) and Project Runway and Project Runway All Stars (Lifetime). Bunim/Murray Productions has launched additional entities including M Theory Entertainment, BMP Films and M Music. BMP Films produced Pedro (MTV) and the Emmy Award-winning Autism: The Musical (HBO). Based in Van Nuys, CA, Bunim/Murray Productions was founded in 1987 by Jonathan Murray and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim. The company joined Banijay Group in 2010.

 

 

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