Layalina's Reality Series to Air in Prime Time on Leading Pan Arab Satellite Station

MBC1 premieres On The Road In America, Season 2 -- discovering the diversity of the US through young Arab eyes

WASHINGTON and DUBAI, UAE, March 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Layalina Productions, Inc., an American non-profit, announced today that the second season of its hit reality series, Ala al Tariq fi Amrika (On The Road In America) will premiere tomorrow on MBC1, the leading pan-Arab free-to-air satellite network.

The second season of On The Road features the exploits of a young and diverse Arab cast on a forty day odyssey across the United States. Sara Hoteit, 23, is Shi'a and grew up in Cote d'Ivoire. Sara now lives in South Beirut and works in marketing. Lama Masri, 21, was born and grew up in Saudi Arabia. A devout Sunni, Lama is a member of the Lebanese national women's soccer team and is a recent graduate of Lebanese American University. Joseph Assi is a 22-year-old Palestinian refugee and filmmaker who resides in a camp in Lebanon and comes from a Christian family. Basheer Haddad, 25, is a Sunni convert from a Druze family, and hails from Cairo. Basheer is a model and actor. Casting for the second season took place in Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Cairo and Dubai. Hundreds of young Arabs responded to the casting call.

The series focuses on Arab and American attitudes toward each other as seen through the eyes of the Arab visitors and the Americans whom they encounter in their journeys. Ultimately the series highlights the differences and similarities between the two cultures and facilitates a deeper understanding of each.  

On The Road In America is a Layalina production, in association with Visionaire Media of Los Angeles and O3 Productions of Dubai. On The Road is created and directed by Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy® award-winning producer Jerome Gary, and executive produced by Gary and Leon Shahabian, Layalina's Vice President.

Ambassador Richard Fairbanks, Layalina's Founder and Chairman states: "We are delighted to work once again with market leader MBC to build on the success of the first season in the Middle East as well as in the United States. The show's millions of fans are in for a treat." Fairbanks goes on to say, "The U.S. private and non-profit sectors have an important role to play in public diplomacy, and I am proud that Layalina is helping lead the way."

Mazen Hayek, Group Director of Marketing, PR & Commercial at MBC Group said: "It is important for our viewers in the Middle East & North Africa region to be exposed to content that helps bridge the gap between the East and West while fostering cultural and educational dialogue in a very realistic and visual manner such as this reality road show. The success of the first season led us into the direction of the second one."

The broadcast dates of the episodes of the second season are as follows:

(Episodes premiere on Fridays 19th March with repeats as follows)

Episode 1: 3/19/10 at 1900 GMT repeats at 2230 GMT and on 3/25/10 at 1330 GMT

Episode 2: 3/26/10 at 1900 GMT repeats at 2230 GMT and on 4/01/10 at 1330 GMT

Episode 3: 4/02/10 at 1900 GMT repeats at 2230 GMT and on 4/08/10 at 1330 GMT

Episode 4: 4/09/10 at 1900 GMT repeats at 2230 GMT and on 4/15/10 at 1330 GMT

The first season of On the Road in America aired in prime time in the MENA region on MBC1 in 2007 and in prime time in the United States in 2008 and 2009 on the Sundance Channel.

According to polling from Ipsos Stat, a leading European polling firm, On the Road was the second most-watched show in its prime time slot in the Arab world out of 370 channels, and reached around 4.5 million viewers per episode.

Layalina is currently pursuing a U.S. sale for the second season.

About Layalina

Layalina Productions, Inc. is a non-profit corporation based in Washington, D.C. Layalina was founded in 2002 by Richard Fairbanks, the former chief U.S. negotiator for the Middle East Peace Process. Layalina produces thoughtful Arabic and English language television programs  that air in prime time on leading channels in the MENA region and in the United States. Layalina's award-winning shows aim to strengthen existing bridges of mutual understanding between the U.S. and the Arab world and build new ones. The corporation's Board of Counselors comprises former diplomats and officials, broadcasters, and private sector executives from the United States. Layalina's president, Marc Ginsberg, is a former U.S. Ambassador to Morocco.  Layalina's Honorary Chairman is former President George H.W. Bush.  To learn more about Layalina, visit www.Layalina.tv

About MBC Group

MBC Group was established in 1991 as the first pan-Arab free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World.  Over the past 19 years, MBC group has grown to become a well-established media group that enriches people's lives through information, interaction and entertainment.  Based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, MBC Group includes 7 television channels: MBC1 (general family entertainment), MBC2 and MBC MAX (24-hour movies), MBC3 (children's entertainment), MBC4 (entertainment for new Arab women), MBC Action (action series and movies), and Al Arabiya (the 24-hour Arabic language news channel); two radio stations: MBC FM (Gulf music), and panorama fm (contemporary Arabic hit music); as well as O3 productions, a specialized documentary production unit, It has also several online platforms: www.mbc.net, www.alarabiya.net, and www.alaswaq.net.

SOURCE Layalina Productions, Inc.