Santa Monica, CA, June 16, 2010—Debmar-Mercury has teamed with ITV STUDIOS for the new talk show The Chefs and has acquired the worldwide ownership rights to the ITV STUDIOS-produced series. Debmar-Mercury will likely offer a multi-week on-air test of the strip later this year or in 2011, before taking it into national distribution, announced Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, and Paul Buccieri, president-CEO of ITV STUDIOS. Lonnie Burstein, EVP Programming and Production, will oversee production for Debmar-Mercury.

ITV STUDIOS, meanwhile, will handle international distribution and also produce all local formats outside of the U.S. of The Chefs, which brings together four leading chefs. The U.S. version will be taped in New York and feature a daily roundtable discussion about a wide variety of tempting food-related topics.

It marks the second original production pairing between Debmar-Mercury and ITV STUDIOS this year. The two companies are also collaborating on the launch of a new U.S. version of the highest-rated U.K. daytime talker, The Jeremy Kyle Show, further details of which will be announced shortly.

Casting is about to get underway for the chef panel show, with a specific food-related trend or topic discussed each day. In addition to preparing delectable dishes, the chefs will tackle subjects ranging from what to pack in your kids’ lunches and making healthy choices to learning a celebrity’s favorite dish and improving your kitchen skills.

“The Chefs successfully combines food, a topic that no one can live without, celebrities and a panel of premier chefs in a winning new talk format,” Marcus says. “It has the ability to play across all daytime and early fringe time periods.”

Bernstein comments, “We’re excited to be working with ITV, whose success in this genre (Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares) we believe will be an integral part of this project and which clearly has already tapped into one of the hottest genres in TV today.”

Buccieri adds.  “The Chefs has an extremely broad appeal and it takes a really fun approach to one of the cornerstones of all our lives - food.  I am delighted to be working on another show with the Debmar-Mercury team.“

ITV Studios, represented by ICM, developed The Chefs in conjunction with Octagon, Inc.’s newly formed entertainment group.

About ITV STUDIOS, Inc.

ITV STUDIOS, Inc., the U.S.-based production entity of ITV STUDIOS in the U.K., is one of the largest international producers for the U.S. market and a major force in acquiring, developing and producing reality and scripted programming for U.S. networks.

ITV STUDIOS is a world leader in television production and distribution, with international production centers in the U.K., Germany and Australia, as well as America and programs distributed to over 155 territories worldwide. Our U.S. hit TV show, Nanny 911, has been sold to more than 60 countries. Other ITV Studios series include Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, Steven Segal Lawman, First 48 and the upcoming NBC series, Prime Suspect.

About Debmar-Mercury:

Debmar-Mercury, a worldwide media company specializing in syndication, network, cable and ancillary markets, produces and distributes The Wendy Williams Show; distributes Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and spinoff Meet the Browns; Big Lake, a new comedy from Gary Sanchez Productions’ Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy; Are We There Yet?, a new sitcom from Revolution Studios’ Joe Roth, Cube Vision’s Ice Cube and Matt Alvarez, and Show-Runner Ali LeRoi; as well as strips Family Feud, South Park and True Hollywood Story; the weekly Deadliest Catch; and a movie library featuring titles from Revolution Studios and Lionsgate.   Debmar-Mercury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading next-generation studio.

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Contacts

For Debmar-Mercury:

Jim Benson

The Lippin Group

jbenson@lippingroup.com

323.965.1990 (ext. 315)

For ITV STUDIOS:

Pam Golum

The Lippin Group

pgolum@lippingroup.com

323.965.1990 (ext. 325)