Press Release

Spike TV Orders New Seasons of '1000 Ways To Die' and 'MANswers'

April 23, 2009 at 12:00 AM EDT
Spike TV Orders New Seasons of '1000 Ways To Die' and 'MANswers'

NEW YORK, April 23 -- Spike TV has ordered a new season of 13 episodes of its original hit series, "1000 Ways To Die" from renowned producer Thom Beers' Original Productions, and a third season of 10 episodes of its late-night series, "MANswers," it was announced today by Sharon Levy, senior vice president, original programming, Spike TV. The telecast dates for the new seasons will be announced at a later date.

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The 13-episode order for "1000 Ways To Die" includes the pilot for "1000 Ways To Lie" that features the most outrageous lies ever told in a fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek manner.

"Our audience has spoken - and they love how Spike delivers funny and irreverent factual entertainment like no one else on television," said Levy. "We are also excited for a new pilot from the twisted genius mind of Thom Beers."

Airing at 10pm on Sundays, the first full season of "1000 Ways To Die" (Feb 8-April 5) averaged a robust 1.5 million viewers with a 1.1 rating in Men 18-49 and 1.1 in Men 18-34. The season finale drew an impressive 1.8 million viewers, its largest ever audience. The series is also a hit on Spike.com as it was the most-watched video content in February and the show's premiere drove traffic up 127% in weekly unique visitors.

"1000 Ways to Die" showcases some of the most outrageously true stories about those who succumbed to the grim reaper in the most unorthodox styles. Each case takes you through a fast-paced full reenactment interlaced with dramatic witness testimonials, fun historical tidbits, scientific expert explanations and vibrant CGI effects reminiscent of classic comic books. Playing off the commonly misconceived notion, "that could never happen to me," "1000 Ways to Die" works to dispel that myth in a tongue-in-cheek fashion, highlighting the comedic irony in all the crazy ways people can get themselves killed.

Season 2 of Spike's original series, "MANswers," tallied 925,000 viewers in its Tuesday 11pm timeslot (Sept-Dec 2008). During its run of new episodes, the show was also successful online, as it consistently ranked as the most viewed original show on Spike.com drawing 1.5 million page views.

"MANswers" is trivia for men delivering real answers that guys need to know. In each episode, "MANswers" features re-enactments, expert one-on-ones and man-on-the-street interviews to educate Spike viewers on the taboo topics in terms only guys can relate to. The barrage of guy-oriented trivia is presented in a fast-paced, irreverent manner and is fodder for settling barroom bets and water-cooler arguments.

Acclaimed producer Thom Beers ("Deadliest Catch," "Ice Road Truckers" and "Ax Men") and Philip Segal of Original Productions serve as executive producers for "1000 Ways to Die." "MANswers" is executive produced by Fujisankei Communications International with Akifumi Takuma and Michael Schelp serving as executive producers, in conjunction with Super Delicious LLC with Adam Cohen, Cara Tapper and Joanna Vernetti serving as executive producers, along with Michael J. Miller, executive producer. Levy is Spike TV's senior vice president of original series and Tim Duffy is vice president of original programming for Spike TV.

Spike TV is available in 98 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks. A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

SOURCE Spike TV

CONTACT: Media
David Schwarz of Spike TV, +1-212-767-8639

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