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BET Delivers Dose of 'Real' to Reality TV Genre with College Hill, Television's First-Ever Black Dramatic Series. Ultimate Look at Black College Life with Eight Co-Eds at Southern University Debuts January 28, 2004.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ - Here's an equation to ponder: 8 students + 1 Roof = 2 Much Drama. Even a "mad scientist" might shy away from that volatile formula. But that's exactly what BET has concocted with eight college co-eds; a popular Black college campus in the hot Louisiana sun; challenging class work; a slamming party scene; and 24/7 surveillance by the network's television cameras. Is it dangerous? Maybe. Is it provocative? Absolutely. It's COLLEGE HILL, a new 13-episode series premiering Wednesday, January 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on BET -- television's first-ever Black dramatic reality show.

"There is college life, and then there's Black college life. And those who have been around historically Black colleges and universities know there are social, cultural and attitudinal differences from the more mainstream institutions," said Stephen Hill, BET Senior Vice President of Music Programming and Talent. "What we're capturing in COLLEGE HILL is a one-of-a- kind look at college life through eight very diverse and interesting co-eds. Our BET cameras will capture the ups, downs, tears, joys, successes and failures as these young people become adults and pursue higher learning at the same time."

Edmonds Entertainment Group, famed producers of the award-winning drama SOUL FOOD, produced the new COLLEGE HILL series for BET. Tracey Edmonds, President and CEO of Edmonds Entertainment and executive producer for COLLEGE HILL, sees the show as much more than just cameras following college students around campus.

"To legitimize a reality series, you must afford the cast every opportunity to be themselves, to be absolutely real with their daily lives and issues. That's exactly what we've done with these eight students at Southern," said Edmonds. "There are some hysterically funny parts of this series, and there are some areas that are deep, troubling and sometimes a little painful. But that's what reality television should portray -- real emotion, real situations and real people."

BET will supplement the launch of COLLEGE HILL with a special 13-week "Watch and Win Scholarship Sweepstakes," giving away more than $25,000 in scholarship money to either college-bound or college-enrolled students. During each COLLEGE HILL episode, an on-screen password will appear. Students can then log on to www.bet.com/collegehill and enter the sweepstakes. There will be 13 winners -- one chosen following every new episode -- with each lucky student receiving a $2,004 scholarship check. Supporting the overall show launch and sweepstakes will be a substantial multi-media advertising campaign leveraging radio ads in 14 major markets; ads in the campus newspapers of 38 historically Black colleges and universities; and various outdoor billboard, bus shelter and mall displays.

The COLLEGE HILL cast members aren't household names -- just yet. But by the time the series concludes, each will have left indelible marks on the show, and maybe on each other. Comprising the cast will be (listed only by first names; hometown in parenthesis):

Nina (Shreveport, Louisiana); Senior - Marketing Major
Profile: The cheerleader and diva of the group; competes in pageants;
sophisticated attitude; socialite

Kevin (Los Angeles); Junior - Sociology Major
Profile: Jock and ladies man; college football and women are all that
matter; has a lazy streak

Delano (Los Angeles); Senior - Mass Communications Major
Profile: Rapper/aspiring actor; charmer; class clown; still dealing with
recent death of his mother

Shalondrea (Shreveport, Louisiana); Sophomore - Elementary Education Major
Profile: Country girl at heart; instigator and trouble-maker; has a "not-
so-secret" secret to deal with

Kinda (Baton Rouge, Louisiana); Freshman - Undecided Major
Profile: "Wild Child" of the cast; men get their "freak" on - why can't
she?; daughter of a school administrator

Gabriel (Dallas); Senior - Biology/Pre-Med Major
Profile: School band and fraternity member; "Big Man" on campus; smooth
operator with an ulterior motive

Veronica (Houston); Sophomore - Marketing Major
Profile: Rich girl and spoiled rotten; another diva for the group to deal
with; beautiful and she knows it

Jabari (Chicago); Junior - Computer Science Major
Profile: An academic genius, literally; has a "nerds-are-us" look; video
games and dancing are a high priority

Edmonds Entertainment and BET sought diversity in tabbing the eight cast members, something that Edmonds thinks will keep the show and its plot intriguing from week to week.

"The diversity of the cast and some pretty outrageous twists in how they relate to each other gives this show a different level of reality," said Edmonds. "At times, the whole scene is amusing. But there will be other times when life under this roof will be a real cause for concern. I think BET has a prime time hit on its hands."

ABOUT BET

BET, a subsidiary of Viacom, Inc, is the nation's leading television network providing quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American audience. The BET Network reaches more than 78 million households according to Nielsen media research, and can be seen in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. BET is a dominant consumer brand in the urban marketplace with a diverse group of branded businesses: BET.com, the Number 1 Internet portal for African Americans; BET Digital Networks -- BET Jazz, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, specializing in a full range of event production services, including event management, venue selection, talent recruitment, sound, lighting and stage production; and BET Books, the nation's leading publisher of African-American themed romance novels under the Arabesque Books label, and publisher of new imprints Sepia and New Spirit.

ABOUT EDMONDS ENTERTAINMENT

Established by R&B superstar Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and his wife Tracey, Edmonds Entertainment Group has soared like a shooting star to the ranks of Hollywood's elite entertainment companies. Its major subsidiaries include Edmonds Record Group, creators of many of the world's most-recognized song titles; Edmonds Entertainment, producers of award-winning film and television projects; Edmonds Management, representing impressive artist clientele in film, television and music ventures; Edmonds Music Publishing, owners of an impressive library of original and acquired musical works; and the TracKen Place Recording Studio, offering state-of-the-art recording and production technology. Some of company's most noteworthy works include the critically-acclaimed Soul Food feature film, winner of five NAACP Image Awards; and the popular Soul Food cable television series, recipient of six NAACP Image Awards.

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