Monday, January 6, 2014

ABC Family Orders Comedy Pilots 'Mystery Girls' & 'Young & Hungry' to Series

ABC Family announced today the pickup of two half-hour comedy series Mystery Girls, starring and executive produced by Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth, and Young & Hungry, starring Emily Osment from executive producer Ashley Tisdale. Production will begin on both series in Los Angeles in early 2014 and both will premiere in 2014.




Tom Ascheim, President of ABC Family, said, "It's great to start the new year and my tenure at ABC Family with the pickup of these two funny original series. ABC Family's comedy lineup continues to resonate with our audience and I'm thrilled to boost that momentum by adding Mystery Girls and Young & Hungry, which are sure to become fan favorites."

"We are excited to expand our comedy brand with two new series that build on our already solid comedy block of hits, Melissa & Joey and Baby Daddy," added Kate Juergens, Chief Creative Officer and Executive Vice President of Programming and Development, ABC Family. "Viewers are excited to see Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth back on television together again, and will fall in love with Young & Hungry star Emily Osment in these comedies that bring us fun, new characters with which to laugh out loud."

Mystery Girls, starring Spelling and Garth, follows two former detective TV show starlets brought back together by a real-life mystery. Charlie Contour (Garth) is a suburban housewife and mother, while Holly Hamilton (Spelling) longs for her glory days in the 90s when she was one television. Both of their lives are disrupted when Nick (Miguel Pinzon), a witness to a crime and a 'Mystery Girls' fanatic, will only speak to the infamous duo, and the former friends must reunite and put their TV crime-solving skills to the test. Spelling, Garth and Maggie Malina will serve as executive producers. The pilot was written by Shepard Boucher based on a story by Spelling and Boucher.

In Young & Hungry, two worlds collide when Josh (Jonathan Sadowski), a wealthy young tech entrepreneur meets Gabi (Osment), a feisty young food blogger, looking to be his personal chef. Gabi is desperate for the job and must prove herself, mostly to Josh's aide (Rex Lee), who prefers a famous chef for the job. When Josh enlists Gabi to prepare a romantic meal for him and his girlfriend, the dinner goes awry and Gabi finds herself in a very awkward position. With the help of her best friend Sofia (Aimee Carrero) and Josh's housekeeper (Kym Whitley), Gabi turns a difficult situation into an opportunity for employment and maybe even love. Annie Potts will appear as a recurring guest star. The series is executive produced by Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Jessica Rhoades and Ashley Tisdale. The pilot was written by David Holden.