Mr. T Puts the 'T' in TV Land When I Pity the Fool Premieres on October 11
Viewers Will Have Multi-platform Access to TV Icon Including Live Video
Chat With Mr. T Immediately Following On-Air Premiere
PASADENA, Calif., July 13 -- Watch out Dr. Phil, move over
Oprah and step aside Tony Robbins, TV Land today announced that Mr. T's new
original series I Pity The Fool, will premiere on the network on October 11
at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). In I Pity The Fool, produced by Lionsgate, in
association with Left/Right Films and Remag Guerilla, Mr. T is on a mission
to change people's lives by dispensing his own brand of advice in classic
T-style in every city with fools to pity.
"Life can offer lots of challenges and sometimes you just can't do it
alone," says Mr. T. "I understand what it takes to overcome adversity and
I'm ready to do my part to help people rise above their troubles and come
out like new!"
"Mr. T is such an enormous pop culture icon and is one of the most
beloved stars of our time," states Sal Maniaci, Senior Vice President,
Development and Original Production, TV Land and Nick at Nite. "We're
thrilled to be working with him on a show that lets people see the true T
and see him experience first-hand funny situations and how motivational he
can be."
I Pity The Fool features this classic TV icon in a role that he is very
comfortable with -- #1 Jibber Jabber Attacker. Whether he's teaching fools
some basic rules or being a motivator for procrastinators, Mr. T becomes
immersed in the situation at-hand and becomes a catalyst for change.
Upcoming episodes include Mr. T at a car dealership in New York seeking to
motivate the employees and improve the relationship between a father and
son- in-law working together, as well as Mr. T visiting a dance school to
help the students ensure that they will be able to participate in their
recital despite their instructor's lack of organizational skills.
Additionally, viewers can enjoy I Pity The Fool on their computer
screens as TVLand.com gives fans several different ways to get their fill
of T. Immediately following the premiere of the show, at 10:30 p.m. ET,
fans will be able to interact with Mr. T himself in a live video chat on
the site. Prior to the chat, visitors to the site will see
behind-the-scenes video, sneak peeks of episodes and footage produced
specifically for the Web. Other I Pity The Fool offerings on TVLand.com
will include "Rules for Fools" -- video clips of Mr. T dispensing advice on
finances, dating, hygiene, listening, etc., -- and video T-mail, enabling
fans to send video e-cards for birthdays, new parents, and more.
Executive producers for I Pity The Fool are Stephen Belafonte (Thank
You for Smoking, Never Die Alone), Ken Druckerman (Growing Up Gotti), and
Banks Tarver (Growing Up Gotti).
The deal for Mr. T was brokered by The Buchwald Agency.
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) is the leading independent filmed entertainment
studio. It won the Best Picture Academy Award for CRASH this year, has
generated more than 300 million dollars at the domestic theatrical box
office for two consecutive years, has built a 500 million dollar-a-year
home entertainment business and has numerous primetime television series
slated to air in fiscal 2007. It is a premier producer of motion pictures,
television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and
video-on-demand content. Lionsgate's prestigious and prolific library of
more than 5,500 titles is a stable and reliable source of recurring revenue
and serves as an important foundation for the continued growth of the
Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand name is synonymous with
original, daring, quality product in markets around the globe.
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SOURCE TV Land
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