I guess this was inevitable: Freeform has announced the pick-up of the unscripted series, Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After? – in which we get to watch as the famous couple from The Bachelor try to find their happily ever after.
The network has also announced the premiere of an unscripted relationship series – called The Letter – to be narrated by Dead of Summer’s Zelda Williams.
Both shows will premiere on October 11th. Follow the jump for details.
NEW UNSCRIPTED SERIES ‘BEN & LAUREN: HAPPILY EVER AFTER?’ AND ‘THE LETTER’ TO PREMIERE ON FREEFORM ON OCTOBER 11
‘The Bachelor’’s Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell Share Their Lives After the Final Rose
Zelda Williams (‘Dead of Summer’) Narrates Relationship Show ‘The Letter’
Freeform announced today that new unscripted series “Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?” and “The Letter” will premiere on the network TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11. “Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?” will kick off the night at 8:00 p.m. EDT, followed by “The Letter” at 9:00 p.m. EDT, on Freeform, the new name for ABC Family.
You all know and love Ben Higgins and his fiancée Lauren Bushnell from season 20 of “The Bachelor” – but what happens after the final rose is handed out and normal life ensues? This new reality series will follow the happy couple as they prepare to walk down the aisle and begin their brand-new life together while navigating the real world after the splendor of “The Bachelor”’s exotic dates and fantasy suites has ended. During the show some fan favorites from “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” will stop by to visit and share their own advice on life after the show. The show will premiere on Tuesday, October 11 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT).
The series will be produced by Next Entertainment in association with Warner Horizon Television. Mike Fleiss, Martin Hilton and Jason Ehrlich will serve as the executive producers. Jack Mori is co-executive producer.
“The Letter” is a bold, new relationship show that asks the simple question: “If you could anonymously tell your best friend in a letter the things that he or she really needed to hear, would you do it?” In each stand-alone episode, four friends for life draw names and anonymously write to the selected person a thoughtful, yet totally honest letter outlining their opinion of what needs to be changed in order to improve and transform their friend’s life for the better. For one week, each “reader” must follow all the rules and instructions outlined in the letter – culminating in a dramatic and emotionally charged meeting where the authors of each letter reveal themselves to their best friends. The series is narrated by actress Zelda Williams (“Dead of Summer”). The show will premiere on Tuesday, October 11 (9:00-10:00 p.m. EDT).
“The Letter” is produced by Sirens Media, part of Leftfield Entertainment, an ITV America company. Executive producers for Sirens Media are Rebecca Toth Diefenbach, Valerie Haselton, Lucilla D’Agostino, Jack Mori and Arthur Borman. Zelda Williams serves as producer.
About Freeform (the new name for ABC Family)
Part of the Disney|ABC Television Group, Freeform is distributed in 94 million homes. The network connects to audiences and goes beyond entertainment with bold original programming and immersive social engagement. The network delivers a unique mix of quality original and acquired series, plus fan favorite movies and the holiday events “13 Nights of Halloween” and “25 Days of Christmas.” The Freeform app is a service that allows viewers with participating TV subscription services access to 24/7 live viewing of the network, as well as continued on-demand access via a wide array of devices.
About Warner Horizon Television
Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of scripted series for the cable and subscription/on-demand marketplace, and primetime reality series for both network and cable. A division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, WHTV was founded in 2006. Its current scripted programs are “Rizzoli & Isles” and “Animal Kingdom” for TNT, “People of Earth” for TBS, “Pretty Little Liars” and “Famous in Love” for Freeform, “Longmire” and “Fuller House” for Netflix, and “Queen Sugar” for OWN. WHTV’s unscripted series are “The Voice” and “Little Big Shots” for NBC, as well as “The Bachelor” franchise — which also includes “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “After Paradise” — and “500 Questions” for ABC, among others.
About Sirens Media
Sirens Media was founded in 2005 by Co-Presidents Rebecca Toth Diefenbach and Valerie Haselton, and has produced hundreds of hours of innovative, bold and compelling top-rated programming for the major cable networks. Sirens is best known for producing powerhouse reality series “Real Housewives of New Jersey” for Bravo. The series has repeatedly broken ratings records for the network and remains in the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist. Sirens’ successful, longstanding partnership with Discovery ID currently boasts seven series on the air for the network, including “House of Horrors,” “Evil Kin,” “Nightmare Next Door” and “Hell House.” Other current Sirens credits include RHONJ spinoff series “Manzo’d with Children” (Bravo), “Thicker Than Water” (Bravo), “For My Man” (tvOne), and the true crime series “Killing Fields” for Discovery Channel. In 2013, Sirens became part of Leftfield Entertainment (an ITV America company).
About Leftfield Entertainment
Founded by producer and CEO Brent Montgomery in 2013, Leftfield Entertainment produces compelling content across various programming genres, including reality, docu-series, lifestyle programming, documentary and competition. Anchored by flagship production company Leftfield Pictures (“Pawn Stars”), the Leftfield Entertainment group also includes Sirens Media (“The Real Housewives of New Jersey”), Loud TV (“Tiny House Nation”), Outpost Entertainment (“Forged in Fire”) and Riot Creative. ITV acquired Leftfield Entertainment in May 2014.
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Ben & Lauren photo credit: Melissa Jordan/Courtesy of Freeform
The Letter photo credit: Lou Rocco/Courtesy of Freeform