Metro Heats Up Summer With Sizzlin’ New Season Launch, July 24

Line-Up Includes Premieres of Three New Original Productions 3rd Date, New Joke City With Robert Klein & Club La Bomba, Latin dance spectacular hosted by Spanish TV’s Sexiest Hostess Sofia Vergara – Four More Classic Series About New York Come to Metro’s TVNY Including Welcome Back, Kotter and The Days & Nights of Molly Dodd

New York, NY, July 19, 2000 – Weeks before the rest of television comes back from summer vacation, Metro
the favorite destination on the dial for all things New York – is debuting its new season.


Metro’s new line-up will begin unfolding on Monday, July 24. It includes the premieres of three, spirited original series dedicated to some of the favorite passions of New Yorkers – dating, dancing and comedy. 3rd Date, Club La Bomba and New Joke City with Robert Klein will air with other Metro originals – Rhythm & Dues, Subway Q&A, Gameface and New York Stories – in a new Monday – Saturday 10 PM strand that answers the question posed in Metro’s new promotional campaign: “What Makes New York New York?


Metro’s popular block of sitcoms and dramas about New York – TVNY – will grow with the premieres of four more all-time favorites set in the Big Apple: Welcome Back, Kotter, The Days & Nights of Molly Dodd, New York News with Mary Tyler Moore and NY Daze. The network will continue to rollout new shows and specials through the end of September. The effort will culminate with Full Frontal Fashion/Spring 2001, 11 days of marathon coverage of the glittery fashions shows in Bryant Park, and the premiere of new weekly series created in partnership with New York Magazine.


“Metro is wholly dedicated to helping New Yorkers explore and celebrate their many passions – sports, fashion, food, music – the things make New York New York,” says Greg Moyer, President of Regional Programming for Rainbow Media Holdings. “All these shows cover their beat with the kind of authority, authenticity, energy, ingenuity and celebrity that you can only find here in the world’s fastest moving metropolis.”


Three New Shows Inaugurate Metro’s 10 PM Strand Of Originals Dedicated to NY Passions


“Other local television outlets devote their prime evening timeslots to entertainment and magazine shows with a broad, national focus,” states Patrice Andrews, MetroChannels’ Senior Vice President of Production and Programming. “At Metro, we’re giving two-thirds of this valuable time to innovative originals about where you live – six days a week. Whether it’s dancing, dating, comedy, documentary film, food or sports, New Yorkers pursue their passions with an energy that’s second to none.”


Beginning the week of July 24, Metro will launch a schedule including six nights of original programming, including the premieres of three new original shows and new episodes of four proven Metro favorites. Every Monday – Saturday, Metro has dedicated its 10 PM timeslot to shows that answer the question “What makes New York New York?.” The new schedule includes: (*Releases with full details on each show are available).

    3rd Date – Premieres Monday, July 24 – An offbeat, eminently voyeuristic half-hour that chronicles the adventures (or misadventures?) of three real-life New York couples as they take that “make or break” 3rd date. Metro’s cameras are there for the whole adventure of couples who are about to either “get serious” or “get it over with” – from the phone call to plan the meeting to the date itself to the post-date interview where they reveal whether they’ll be a 4th date! (Mondays @ 10 PM)


    New Joke City with Robert Klein – Premieres Wednesday, July 26 – A new weekly one-hour series dedicated to the edgy, without-a-net world of New York comedy, hosted by Bronx’s funniest export, comedian Robert Klein. Each episode marries New York-centric performances by four of stand-up’s most sophisticated stars and hottest newcomers with a day-in-the-life documentary about the headliner, taped as he/she prepares for their big night on the stage! New Joke City also serves up groundbreaking sketch comedy, performed and taped on the streets of New York, by one of our city’s most radical ensembles, Nuyorican Rule. (Wednesdays @ 10 PM)


    Club La Bomba – Premieres Friday, July 28 – A sizzling hour-long dance party celebrating Latin music – from salsa to hip hop – hosted by Spanish television’s sexiest and most-talked about hostess – model and calendar and pin-up queen Sofia Vergara. Each episode features two live performances from the show’s studio home near Times Square and a third from one of the city’s hottest Latin dance clubs. Club La Bomba complements the performances and videos with high-energy fashion shows, dance and karaoke competitions and performances by its in-house troupe of sexy steppers, the Club La Bomba Dancers. Already the subject of mucho media ink in outlets like The New York Post’s “Page Six” and Gear Magazine, Vergara is the perfect catalyst for New York’s only Latin-themed TV dance party. (Fridays @ 10 PM, repeat Saturdays @ 11 PM)


Established shows in Metro’s original block will also be undergoing changes – some in content, others in scheduling. The network’s ultra quirky interview show featuring Pop-Up Video creator Tad Low, Subway Q&A (Mondays @ 10:30 PM), is growing from a daily short-form to a half-hour weekly series. The weekly one-hour long performance series, Rhythm & Dues (Saturdays @ 10 PM), will now feature a staff notable NYC music personalities including Carol Miller. Metro’s recently launched sportstalk hour hosted by Dave Sims, Gameface, will air Thursdays, while the award-winning one-hour documentary series New York Stories, will move to Tuesdays (both at 10 PM).

    Kotter, Molly and Mary Come to TVNY
    New Yorkers will have even more opportunity to look, and laugh, at themselves with the expansion of Metro’s popular TVNY. The strand kicked-off in April with the airing of five classic sitcoms and dramas about life in New York, including The Bronx Zoo and Car 54 Where Are You?, which will continue in the schedule, along with five more favorites.


    Welcome Back, Kotter – Premieres Monday, July 24 – Metro is welcoming back the hilarious comedy about a young, idealistic and very funny Brooklyn teacher and his impossible class of under-achievers, “The Sweathogs.” The sitcom launched the career of John Travolta, who played the sexy, but slightly dim Vinny Barbarino. The show will air Mondays – Fridays @ 7 PM. It will be followed each night by Car 54 Where Are You? @ 7:30 PM.


    The Days & Nights of Molly Dodd – Premieres Monday, July 24 – This critically-acclaimed 80’s situation comedy provides an amusing and complex view of the life of 30-something New York divorcee, played by Blair Brown. Back-to-back episodes will air Mondays beginning @ 8 PM, preceding Central Park West @ 9 PM.


    New York News – Premieres Tuesday, July 25 – A one-hour drama that taps into the relentless mayhem that is New York by profiling the hard-edged reporters who cover it. TV comedy queen, Mary Tyler Moore, stars in and out of character as Louise Felcott, the “dragon lady” editor of the fictional daily, The New York Reporter. New York News will air Tuesdays @ 9 PM, immediately following The Bronx Zoo, a hour-long drama starring MTM’s former co-star, Ed Asner.


    NY Daze – Premieres July 26 – The lives, loves and big dreams of a duo of New York City slackers are the heart of this former FOX comedy, created by and starring Eric Schaeffer and Donal Larnder Ward. The supporting cast includes several names who went on to stardom, including Portia De Rossi of Ally McBeal fame. Back-to-back half-hour episodes air Wednesdays @ 9 PM.


“TVNY has become a real destination for our viewers, a family of familiar content that they can check into to unwind and enjoy some reminisces and laughs about life in New York,” continues Andrews. “The addition of classics like Kotter and Molly Dodd provides Metro with a New York-centric line-up that spans from the ’60s to ’90s, and a great balance to our original productions.”


Rainbow Media’s MetroChannels are the first and only suite of television networks devoted entirely to the experience of living in the New York metropolitan area. MetroChannels consist of METRO, Metro Learning, and Metro Traffic&Weather. METRO showcases what New Yorkers are passionate about by providing regularly scheduled original programs focusing on everything from fine dining to live music and sports, classic New York TV series and documentaries about the people, places and history of New York. MetroLearning provides unfiltered coverage of events unfolding in the many diverse communities throughout this metropolis. Metro Traffic&Weather is the tri-state’s first and only 24-hour local traffic, transit, and weather channel. Since its 1998 launch, MetroChannels has received numerous accolades for its programming — the 1999 & 2000 Community Spirit Award, New York Festivals Awards, Omni Awards and the Communicator Awards. In addition, MetroChannels was among the top 10 networks nominated for the 1999 local New York Emmy Awards.

Contact:

Sal Cataldi/Darcey Agostino
Cataldi PR
212-244-9797