Tony Award-winning film and stage actor Matthew Broderick (‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’, ‘The Producers’) will make a guest appearance on the new season of “Modern Family.” Broderick will play a neurotic new friend of Phil’s in an upcoming episode for the fourth season of the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning comedy. “Modern Family” returns on September 26 and airs Wednesdays from 9:00-9:30 p.m., ET on the ABC Television Network.

“Modern Family” stars Ed O’Neill as Jay, Julie Bowen as Claire, Ty Burrell as Phil, Sof’a Vergara as Gloria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Mitchell, Eric Stonestreet as Cameron, Sarah Hyland as Haley, Nolan Gould as Luke, Ariel Winter as Alex, Rico Rodriguez as Manny and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily.

The series is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television in association with Levitan Lloyd Productions. Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd are the creators/executive producers. Danny Zuker, Dan O’Shannon, Bill Wrubel, Paul Corrigan, Brad Walsh, Abraham Higginbotham and Jeffrey Richman also serve as executive producers.

Image Courtesy of  Miro Vrlik Photography / Shutterstock.com

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Burbank, U.S.A. – Hollywood Records has announced the latest addition to their chart-topping roster with the signing of actress/singer Lucy Hale to an exclusive recording deal. Hale stars in the hit series “Pretty Little Liars” on ABC Family, currently in its third season airing Tuesday nights at 8/7c. “Lucy’s immense talent and passion for music make her a great fit for the label,” commented Executive Vice President of Disney Music Group, Ken Bunt. “We’re very excited to be working with her.”

A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Hale grew up listening to country music and it still resonates with her today. While she cites Shania Twain and Faith Hill as early influences, it was the Britney Spears ‘Baby One More Time’ video that ignited a serious interest in pursuing music. Hale continued to hone both her musical and acting chops, amassing an impressive credit roll that includes popular TV shows (“How I Met Your Mother,” “The O.C.,” “Privileged”) and feature film credits (‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2’, ‘Scream 4’.)

Performing on “Pretty Little Liars” and taking the lead in ABC Family’s musical comedy, ‘A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song’, Hale is ready to revisit her musical roots. “I’m overjoyed and honored to become a member of the Hollywood Records family,” said Hale, “I’ve admired the careers they’ve made and can’t wait to see how my musical path is paved out. I’d just like to thank Ken Bunt and everyone involved for giving me the chance to show a whole different side of myself, which is a huge passion for music.”

While Hale appreciates all musical genres, it’s her country roots that speak to her heart and will mark the direction of her music. Recording is set to begin later this year with a single and album due in 2013 on Lyric Street/Hollywood Records.

Image Courtesy of  ABC Family

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Beverly Hills, U.S.A. – Netflix and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution  announced a multi-year exclusive U.S. subscription video licensing agreement for complete previous seasons of hit shows Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game.

The hit teen mystery-thriller, Pretty Little Liars, follows four girls, Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily, after the mysterious disappearance of their best friend, Alison. One year later, the former clique begins to receive messages from someone named ‘A,’ who threatens to expose the group’s secrets – including those that only Alison knew. Season Three of Pretty Little Liars started June 5 on ABC Family, with season one available to watch instantly on Netflix now. Season two will be available on Netflix July 3.

The Lying Game tells the story of identical twin girls, Emma and Sutton, separated at birth and unaware of each other until circumstances bring them together. With Emma raised in the foster care system and Sutton adopted by a wealthy family, the series follows the girls as they switch places to search for their birth parents – a move that sets into motion a tangled web of secrecy and lies. Season one of The Lying Game will be available on Netflix when Season two premieres on ABC Family in early 2013.

“Our US members love Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game,” said Ted Sarandos, Netflix Chief Content Officer. “We are excited that our relationship with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution continues to evolve and is allowing us to bring more of these hit shows to Netflix.”

“We are thrilled to extend our relationship with Netflix by licensing them these two terrific shows,” saidKen Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “These series are hugely popular with viewers who not only watch their series on TVs, but also on laptops, tablets and mobile devices — be it one episode at a time or an entire season. By featuring the out-of-season episodes of Pretty Little Liars and Lying Game, new viewers will have the opportunity to discover the show and catch up which will, in turn, bring new fans to the original episodes on ABC Family.” 

Image Courtesy of   ABC Family

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Corus Entertainment’s newest service, ABC Spark, launches on Monday, March 26 with the day-and-date season premiere of the critically acclaimed The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

The primetime schedule will also include ABC Family original series Switched at Birth, Melissa & Joey, The Lying Game and Make It or Break It. ABC Spark, built on the foundation of the successful U.S. brand ABC Family, will also feature a slate of popular general entertainment programming that will complement the primetime lineup.

“With the launch of ABC Spark, the wait is over for Canada. Fans of hit series like The Secret Life of the American Teenager will now have unprecedented access to ABC Family programming, delivered across multiple platforms,” said Ted Ellis, Vice President, Programming, Kids and Family. “Nested blocks of ABC Family programming that aired on YTV, W Network and CMT leading up to the launch of the service have been very successful. Clearly, there is real appetite for these kinds of shows and we are excited to grow this brand in Canada.”

Viewers across Canada will have the opportunity to sample this new network during a free preview beginning Monday, March 26 through to Saturday, June 30.

ABC Spark’s primetime schedule to include:

The Secret Life of the American Teenager - Season 4 – New episodes!
Mondays at 8 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT starting March 26
From the creator of 7th Heaven comes a heartfelt one-hour drama that focuses on the relationships between families and friends and how they deal with an unexpected teen pregnancy.

The series’ regular cast includes popular actress Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles) and Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley (The Descendants, The O.C.). The series also stars Ken Baumann, Mark Derwin, India Eisley, Greg Finley, Daren Kagasoff, Megan Park and Francia Raisa with Steve Schirripa.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager picks up right where it left off after a dramatic summer finale, with Amy accepting a marriage proposal from boyfriend, and father of her son, Ricky and Adrian and Ben moving on from their tragic past. This season, the series continues to explore new and ever changing relationships with the introduction of several new characters. Despite the crazy relationships, there’s an undercurrent of discovery, honesty and growing up – even for the adults.

Make It or Break It - Season 3
Mondays at 9 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT starting March 26
Make It or Break It is a one-hour scripted drama, set in the world of competitive gymnastics and follows a group of teen Olympic hopefuls as they train and prepare for their day in the spotlight.

In Season 3, Payson (Ayla Kell), Kaylie (Josie Loren), and Lauren (Cassie Scerbo) move into the USA Training center to endure a rigorous eight-week training competition to make the cut for the 2012 Olympic gymnastics team. With a new coach and fierce competition – including the return of former rivals Kelly Parker and Jordan Randall - Payson, Kaylie and Lauren are pushed to their limits physically and emotionally.

The girls are closer than ever and committed to making the Olympic team together, but secret betrayals, questionable alliances and the reality of competing to make the final cut will test their loyalties like never before.

Switched at Birth - Season 1 – New episodes!
Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. PT starting March 27

A one-hour scripted drama, Switched at Birth, tells the story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Vanessa Marano plays Bay Kennish, a girl who grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc), is a girl who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis and grew up with a single mother in a working class neighbourhood.

Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls. This dramatic new series also includes Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City), and D.W. Moffett (Friday Night Lights). The series also stars Constance Marie, Lucas Grabeel and Sean Berdy asEmmett Bledsoe. Academy Award® winner Marlee Matlin is a recurring guest star as Melody Bledsoe, Emmett’s mother.

Bay’s father Angelo (Gilles Marini) is back and his motives continue to be questionable as he attempts to reunite the biological Vasquez family (himself, Regina, and Bay) and mend fences with Daphne. Bay and Emmett confront the obstacles of a hearing/deaf relationship, as Bay falls deeper for Emmett and meets his father.  Wilke (Austin Butler) heats up his romantic pursuit of Daphne, which complicates things between Toby (Grabeel) and Wilke.

The Lying Game - Season 1
Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT starting March 27
In The Lying Game, inspired by the Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars) book series of the same name, Emma (Alexandra Chando) is a kind-hearted foster kid who can’t catch a break. She finds out she has an identical twin sister, Sutton (also played by Chando), who, unlike Emma, was adopted by wealthy parents and is seemingly living an ideal life.

After their initial meeting,Sutton talks Emma into stepping into her life for a few days while she pursues a lead on their birth mother. Initially excited to do this favour for her sister, Emma soon learns that Sutton has gone missing and could be in trouble. Now, Emma must decide whether to come clean to Sutton’s family and risk her own safety in the hope of uncovering her twin sister’s true whereabouts, along with truth about why they were separated in the first place.

Melissa & Joey - Season 1
Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET/PT starting March 28
Melissa & Joey is a hit comedy starring Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence. Melissa Joan Hart portrays Mel, the grown-up former wild child of a political family who is now a local politician herself.

When her sister ends up in prison and brother-in-law flees after a scandal hits, Mel must take responsibility for her teenaged niece, Lennox, and adolescent nephew, Ryder. Spread too thin to manage by herself, help comes in the unlikely form of Joe (Lawrence) who, desperate for a job, moves in and becomes the family’s “manny.”

ABC Spark is available in Canada through a license agreement between Corus Entertainment and Disney/ABC Television Group. Built on the foundation of the successful U.S. brand ABC Family, ABC Spark is a multiplatform offering featuring original series and movies, as well as general entertainment programming. The 24-hour channel will have the same values, look, tone, essence and feel of ABC Family in the U.S. www.abcspark.ca

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Since Tyler Clementi’s suicide last year, the public has become more aware of the dangers of the Internet and invisible bullies online. However, cyberbullying is not new and has in fact been a reason for many suicides of teenagers all around the country.

In an original movie aired on ABC Family on Sunday, July 17, Cyberbully stars Emily Osment playing Taylor Hillridge, a high school student who is pushed to the edge when she becomes a victim of online bullying while visiting a popular social media site.

At first Hillridge joins the site as a way to flirt with her high school crush but turns into a nightmare when a new boy, James, befriends her. As Hillridge talks to James, indulging private matters, James turns on her and spreads a rumor that he slept with her and contracted an STD. From there the rumors continued and caused more pain to young Taylor.

She tried to handle the problems by herself but slowly she lost her two best friends and started skipping school. Like some cyberbullying incidents, Hilridge attempted to take her life by drug overdose. However, before she tried, she posted a video on the social site with a simple message:

“Everyone hates me. Now I hate myself. I am done talking, done breathing, done with it all.” Luckily, one of her best friends saw the video in time, called Taylor’s mother and the police, and was able to prevent the attempted suicide. Though she was stopped from overdosing, the troubles only got worse. Her classmates learned about the incident and continued to mock and ridicule her.

As her mother tries to take legal action against the cyberbullies, she faces the harsh reality that the police cannot do anything unless the actions were physical. She also tries to talk to her state senator, hoping to raise awareness to cyberbullying and try to pass a law about the dangers of online activity.

Unfortunately, the senator does not want to deal with the Internet. He declines saying, “No one is forcing these teens to go online and it is a freedom of speech.”

Like many cyberbullying cases, this movie touches on the factors of online abuse including rumors, suicide and realization there is no legislative help to stop and punish the bullies.

Since September 2010, many celebrities have taken a stand against cyberbullying. There have been television shows and movies regarding the topic. Many individuals have also started campaigns and organizations in hopes to stop the abuse. With all the media around digital abuse, there still seems like there is no way out. Bullying continues amongst teenagers in the digital world.

As technology evolves and the access to the internet becomes easier and faster, cyberbullying will also increase. In my opinion, I believe the best method to stop cyberbullying altogether is for companies behind technology and internet search engines, like Apple, Windows, and Google, to stand up and bring awareness.

However, they must do more than just create products or applications, they need to use their power to influence legislation that there needs to be a nation-wide law passed that has teeth and no loopholes. In other words, the law needs to be useable and enforced, taking into account many factors. If these big companies start persuading senators, then the efforts of organizations, celebrities, and individuals will have an impact. Unless these companies join the fight, there will be no stopping online abuse.

Image Courtesy of http://www.facebook.com/CyberbullyMovie

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