CNN Press Release - Dr. Drew Premieres on HLN, Monday, April 4, 9 P.M. ET/PT

Debut of Weeknight Program Kicks-Off HLN’s New Prime, Daytime and Weekend Line-up

One of America’s most talked about doctors, Dr. Drew Pinsky brings his expertise on extreme—and extremely human—behavior to a new weeknight show on HLN. Premiering Monday, April 4, at 9 p.m. (ET/PT), Dr. Drew explores the fundamental question ‘why do we do what we do?’ establishing a connection between people at the core of the news conversation and the real lives of HLN viewers. Dr. Drew de-mystifies the motivations behind behavioral issues, placing people at the center of the story. Through intimate discussions with guests, Dr. Drew tackles a broad range of topics on human behavior.

Dr. Drew’s HLN digital extensions continue the conversation from on-air to online, connecting with viewers and users on multiple platforms, including:

* Dr. Drew HLN blog (http://cnn.com/DrDrew): Provides must-share show clips, and serves a resource for users looking for Dr. Drew’s perspective on a multitude of human behaviors. The blog also allows audiences to interact with Dr. Drew by contributing via iReport to suggest show and guest ideas.

* Facebook/DrDrewHLN: Offers a hub for fans to connect and comment on topics, guests and the host. In addition, the page affords behind-the-scenes moments, best-of-show clips of and previews of what’s on next.

* Twitter/DrDrewHLN: Real-time commenting throughout show, offering prizes to followers, and engagement with Dr. Drew fans across the Twittersphere.

Mon, April 4, also sparks HLN’s new daytime, prime and weekend line-up, boasting the following changes:

* Morning Express with Robin Meade extends an hour to 12 noon weekdays (6 a.m.-12 noon ET);

* Nancy Grace remains in her signature 8 p.m. ET/PT weeknight timeslot;

* Dr. Drew debuts at 9 p.m. ET/PT;

* The Joy Behar Show rounds out HLN’s new weekday prime at 10 p.m. ET/PT, highlighting the week with a roster of power women, including Star Jones and Kate Gosselin (Mon), Sherri Shepherd (Tue), Barbara Eden (Wed), Caroline Kennedy (Thu), Eva Longoria (Fri).

HLN also unveiled HLN Mysteries on Sat, March 5. Airing Saturday’s 7 p.m.-6 a.m. ET, the programming block includes TruTV investigative series, Body of Evidence and The Investigators. Since its premiere, HLN Mysteries has increased the network’s viewership by 57% among P2+ (306k vs. 195k) and by 57% in P25-54 (121k vs. 77k) viewership vs. HLN’s 2011 average audience prior to launch.

HLN is a CNN Worldwide network offered in more than 90 million households in the U.S. CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the U.S.; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Here is a look at an note from Bill Galvin, Senior VP at HLN. In this note to staff, he announces the Executive Producer of the new show Dr. Drew set to premiere in the coming months.

To: HLN /CNN colleagues
From: Bill Galvin
Date: January 11, 2011
Subject: Executive Producer Announcement

Please join me in welcoming Burt Dubrow, who will be the Executive Producer of the new Dr. Drew show set to launch this spring on HLN.

For brevity's sake I'll refrain from detailing all of the credits in Burt's illustrious career, a fascinating path that led to EP roles with Discovery, MTV, GSN and ABC, just to name a few. Along the way, Burt became known as an innovator in the daily talk show genre, highly regarded for his ability to launch shows and develop talent. The likes of Jerry Springer and Sally Jessy Raphael enjoyed ground-breaking and sustained success under Burt's creative guidance.

In his new role with HLN, Burt's initial vision for the Dr. Drew show aligns with the network's brand promise and, very importantly, with Drew's own hopes for the show. He’s already started to meet key contacts at his new home base in the LA Bureau and will begin to take the lead in staffing the rest of the show team.

To this day, Burt describes himself as a "student of television," while Drew calls him "a driving force." Scot Safon notes that "Burt has a track record of building very successful programming around top talent...in Dr. Drew, he's getting the chance to break some new ground on the TV landscape."

Burt mentioned to me that he’s genuinely flattered to be a part of the HLN family. Given his long list of professional accomplishments, I believe the HLN family is fortunate to now call Burt one of our own.

CNN Press Release - Dr. Drew, the new HLN primetime program hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky, will debut on the network on Monday, March 28th at 9 pm ET, it was announced today by Scot Safon, executive vice president, HLN. Pinsky’s nightly program will focus on the newsmakers at the center of the day’s most-talked-about HLN news stories, focusing on the motivations and issues that drive the “extremely human” behaviors at the core of these events.

“We’ll start with honest discussions and direct questions, and we’ll hear from a wide range of people with diverse perspectives and experiences. We’ll dig deep to discover what is really going on behind the headlines to get at the real experiences happening to the people involved,” said Pinsky. “There will be resolution to the discussion, and what began as a distant headline will become relevant to the viewers. At the center of these stories are issues and behaviors worth examining closely, and worth talking about with depth, compassion and insight.”

“There are events and news stories that strike a chord with all Americans, and what Dr. Drew does better than anyone is to focus on the human behaviors of those people in the middle of these events,” said Safon. “This level of discussion and examination in this format does not currently exist on television. We’re proud to give viewers a chance to see Dr. Drew each night.”
Dr. Drew Pinsky is a practicing physician with a private practice and is on staff at Huntington Memorial Hospital. He is also Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Keck USC School of Medicine.

Dr. Drew remains the host of the radio show LOVELINE, which is nationally syndicated by Westwood One. Dr. Drew and Vh1 teamed up for the first reality TV series to depict the process of overcoming addiction. Now in its fourth season, CELEBRITY REHAB with DR. DREW was critically acclaimed by the addiction community for pulling back the veil of secrecy about what goes on in rehabilitation programs. SOBER HOUSE chronicles the sober living process. Dr. Drew is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America (Harper-Collins) and Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again (Harper-Collins). Dr. Drew co-authored with Dr. Mark Young the first academic study on celebrities and narcissism. The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Elsevier) and received worldwide press coverage.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and his M.D. from the University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Dr. Drew continued with USC for his residency. He then became chief resident at Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. Dr. Drew is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the California Medical Association and the American Society of Internal Medicine.

HLN is a CNN Worldwide network offered in more than 90 million households in the U.S. CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the U.S.; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.