CORUS ENTERTAINMENT'S NELVANA STUDIO AND YTV PARTNER WITH HANNAH MONTANA'S
MICHAEL PORYES ON NEW LIVE-ACTION COMEDY

Life with Boys follows 13 year-old Tess Foster
as she copes with the antics of being the only girl in her family

TORONTO, Sept. 8 /CNW/ - Canadian-based media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment, award-winning Nelvana Studio and family network YTV have partnered with Michael Poryes, co-creator and executive producer of the hit series Hannah Montana and That's So Raven, to produce a new live-action comedy, Life with Boys.

With casting commencing now, Life with Boys is scheduled to begin production of 26 half-hour episodes in February 2011. Nelvana Enterprises will distribute Life with Boys in Canada, Latin America and Asia. Helion Pictures will cover distribution in Australia, France and the United Kingdom and leading kids distributor Classic Media will manage distribution across all media in all other territories worldwide.

Life with Boys is scheduled to premiere in Canada on YTV in September 2011 and pre-sales have been secured across Canal J (France), Nickelodeon (United Kingdom) and ABC (Australia).

Life with Boys follows 13 year-old Tess Foster who is trying to navigate her way through the turmoil of teen life with the only touchstones at home being her single overprotective dad and three brothers. Although Tess adores the four important men in her life, they do have four totally different perspectives - they are boys after all. Faced with the constant struggle of trying to understand and be understood by those around her, Tess is challenged with everything from her friends having crushes on her brothers to her brothers giving her heat about her dates - testosterone rules the roost. Despite the shortcomings of being the only girl in a male household, the boys can sometimes offer some solid advice. Whether it's building up the courage to talk to a boy, dealing with an obnoxious one, or coping with the repercussions of being the best girl on the boys wrestling team, Life with Boys sheds a comedic light on many of life's moments.

"We are so pleased to be working with Michael Poryes - an incredibly talented individual who has his finger on the pulse of what tweens want to watch," said Jocelyn Hamilton, Vice President, Programming and Production, Corus Kids. "With a comedic sensibility and positive instinct, Tess' character is a great example for tweens and Life with Boys is a perfect fit for our family network YTV."

"We're looking to cast these characters so both kids and parents can identify, relate and understand all of their experiences in a comedic and entertaining way," said Michael Poryes, Creator and Executive Producer of Life with Boys. "When you make a bunch of kids laugh, that's the best, but when you're getting the entire family laughing together, that's even better - that is success for me."

"Michael's work speaks for itself in terms of quality and reach, and he has set the standard for kids television," said Helion Picture's Managing Director, Steven Bawol. "Life with Boys will raise the bar for this kind of programming. We're proud to be helping bring this series to the international market."

Michael Poryes is co-creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series Hannah Montana and That's So Raven. Poryes also served as co-executive producer of Veronica's Closet as well as co-executive producer of Cybill. Poryes first started out in the entertainment business as a standup comedian and then became a writer for the television series The Facts of Life, Who's the Boss? and Saved by the Bell, among others. Poryes attended the University of California Berkley. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Diane and son Ethan. 

Nelvana Studio is a globally recognized studio that produces a stable of award-winning and globally renowned brands - from literary classics Babar and Franklin to shows such as 6TEEN, Rolie Polie Olie and The Backyardigans, the #1 preschool series in Canada. Many of these series air on Corus Entertainment's kids' services in Canada and in over 150 countries around the world. Nelvana's library now has well over 3,800 episodes of programming and has received over 70 major international program awards including Emmys and Geminis. Visit the Nelvana website at www.nelvana.com.

Seen in over 10.5 million homes across Canada, YTV is a leading entertainment brand for kids. As a major force in kids' television, YTV offers great programming for kids and families with hit Nickelodeon series, blockbuster movies and original Canadian programming. YTV reaches kids online at YTV.com and in local communities with the travelling road show WOW!. Visit www.ytv.com.

Nelvana Studio and YTV are owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. The company's multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon (Canada), W Network, CosmoTV, VIVA, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW, CFOX, CKOI, 98,5 FM, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto (CJR.B) exchange. Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.

Helion Pictures was created by Managing Director Steven Bawol to create long-running fiction series for the international market and has been responsible comedies like "One for the Road" for Channel 4 in the U.K., interactive fiction like "Boy Meets Girl" for Swedish broadcaster SVT and Nickelodeon U.K.'s successful live-action comedy series, "Renford Rejects" and "Genie in the House". Bawol co-created "Section de Recherche", France's most successful one-hour police series for TF1, France's largest broadcaster. Currently, he is co-executive producer of "The Borgias", a drama series created by Tom Fontana by Canal +, and has shows in development with Disney International, Marathon, Lagardere and Cybergoup Studios.

Classic Media, one of the world's largest independent entertainment companies, is a leader in reinventing the classics of yesterday and creating the entertainment classics of tomorrow. The Company owns and manages a globally-recognized portfolio of well-known family and pop-culture entertainment brands, including Casper the Friendly Ghost®, Where's Waldo?®, Lassie®, Gold Key Comics, The Lone Ranger®, and new global brands Tinga Tinga Tales® and Guess with Jess®. Big Idea, a member of the Classic Media family, is the leading faith-based studio and producer of children's programming, including the best-selling animated series, VeggieTales®. More than 3,600 hours of Classic Media programming is distributed in more than 170 territories worldwide and showcased in multiple formats, including TV, film, home video, consumer products, publishing, digital, and music. Visit us at www.classicmedia.tv.

For further information:

Molly Ray
Corus Entertainment
416.479.6087
[email protected]