YOUTUBE ORDERS LIONSGATE TELEVISION'S DANCE DRAMA SERIES STEP UP, INSPIRED BY GLOBAL MOVIE PHENOMENON

First Original Drama Series for YouTube Red to Premiere in 2017

SANTA MONICA and LOS ANGELES, Calif., June 23, 2016 /CNW/ -- YouTube, the world's leading Internet video platform, and Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader, today announced that YouTube has ordered a full season of Lionsgate's drama series Step Up, based on the film franchise that grossed $650 million at the global box office.

Adam Shankman, Jennifer Gibgot and Meredith Milton, all producers of the original Step Up films, will executive produce the series, along with Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan Tatum, who both co-starred in the original Step Up film.

Based on the fan favorite films, the Step Up series is a heart-pounding, sexy, music-filled drama about dancers in a contemporary performing arts school. The show will begin production later this year and will debut exclusively as the first original scripted series on YouTube Red next year.

The original Step Up (2006) featured Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. Four more films followed in quick succession – Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up: 3D, Step Up: Revolution and Step Up: All In – as the franchise grew into a wildly popular global dance and film phenomenon. The last two films of the Step Up series were released by Lionsgate's Summit Entertainment label.

"I've been a fan of the Step Up movies for years and always believed the films would translate into an awesome original series," said Susanne Daniels, Global Head of Original Content, YouTube. "We know that dance is a hugely successful global category on YouTube, so I'm excited to have a series rooted in such an enormously popular genre on our platform."

"Step Up is an incredible property with the global appeal to launch both a blockbuster film franchise and an exhilarating, high-energy series," said Lionsgate Television Group Chairman Kevin Beggs. "After five exciting and successful movies, we're proud to partner with YouTube Red, a major new force on the programming landscape, to adapt the films into an adrenaline-filled original drama series driven by its non-stop energy, spectacular dancing and A-list creative talent."

"The Step Up franchise has been a significant and joy-filled part of all of our lives for over a decade, and introduced the world to Channing and Jenna, who we are so excited to be collaborating with on this show," said executive producers Shankman, Gibgot and Milton. "This original series is a natural extension of our creative passion, and we cannot wait to inspire a whole new audience with our partners at YouTube Red, which has always been an organic online home for many dancers, and a vital part of the dance community."

YouTube Red is a paid membership that enables the ultimate YouTube experience. Members get all of YouTube uninterrupted, a premium YouTube Music experience, and exclusive access to new original series and movies from top YouTube creators. YouTube Red is currently available in the United States, Australia and New Zealand, with plans for additional international expansion throughout 2016.

ABOUT YOUTUBE
Launched in May 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube is a Google company.

ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, international distribution and sales, branded channel platforms, interactive ventures and games, and location-based entertainment. The Company has nearly 80 television shows on 40 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses. These include the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black, the beloved drama series Nashville, the syndication successes The Wendy Williams Show and Celebrity Name Game (with FremantleMedia), the breakout series The Royals and the Golden Globe-nominated dramedy Casual.

The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me, Divergent and John Wick series, Sicario, The Age of Adaline, Roadside Attractions' Love & Mercy and Mr. Holmes, Codeblack Films' Addicted and breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Michelle Slavich
YouTube / Google
[email protected]
818-749-2017

David Gardner
The Lippin Group for Lionsgate
[email protected]
323-965-1990

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SOURCE Lionsgate