Executive Producers Michael Braverman ("Chicago Hope," Life Goes On") and Douglas Schwartz ("Baywatch") Steer New Series Featuring Break-Out Teenage Stars

Los Angeles, CA (December 6, 1999) - Joe Lando ("Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman") toplines and co-executive produces the engaging new adventure-laced, one hour drama series Higher Ground, executive produced by two of television's most successful creator-producers, Michael Braverman and Douglas Schwartz. Also working on the series are Matthew Hastings (EP, Co-Creator) and Frank Giustra (EP). The program, which premieres Friday, January 14 at 9:00 pm (ET/PT) in its regular timeslot, becomes Fox Family Channel's first original one-hour series, inaugurating the network's move toward more scripted fare under the guidance of Rob Sorcher, executive vice president of programming and development.

Set at a wilderness school in the Pacific Northwest, the series tracks the progress of at-risk teens as a camp setting guides their quest for put their lives back on the right course. All the while, they still cope with crushes, parents, heartbreaks and each other. Showcasing picturesque surroundings and intense, involving storylines, Higher Ground boasts an array of fresh new faces, including Hayden Christensen (The Virgin Suicides), A. J. Cook, Meghan Ory (The Darklings), Kyle Downes (Are you Afraid of the Dark?), Kandyse McClure (The Spiral Staircase) and Jorge Vargas (Excess Baggage). Higher Ground also stars Jim Byrnes (Wiseguy, The Highlander) and Anne Marie Loder (Due South).

According to Braverman, whose credits include Beverley Hills 90210, Chicago Hope and Life Goes On says, "If I could characterize this series as anything at all, I would call it the ultimate family drama, as we deal with issues such as teen suicide, drug abuse and sexual abuse by following a core group of six kids at the school where about 150 students try to put their lives back together."

To craft the compassionately-driven and riveting stories, Braverman and his writing staff often turn to eminent psychologist, Dr. Craig Brown, who has his own school for at-risk teens, and brings large doses of reality to Higher Ground's plots. Many of the series' characters are based on actual people, signaling Braverman's commitment to explore kids' lives who are in desperate need of help in the most moving and truthful way possible.

Sorcher says, "Higher Ground brings substance and style to Fox Family Channel, with a series tapping into hot-button topics and issues for families in a compelling and intelligent way."

Taking over an entire forest in a remote Vancouver, British Columbia location, the production built the school, which will house the joy, angst, survival and camaraderie of the teens and their counselors.

Surrounded by towering pines and mountains, the rustic campus of Mt. Horizon High in Higher Ground looks more like a secluded mountain resort than an intentionally-isolated "emotional growth" school. The serene setting aside, the staff faces the daunting task of helping students who have come here in crisis - from drug use, abuse, criminal records, and other traumas.

The headmaster and chief administrator of Mt. Horizon, Peter Scarbrow (Lando), working with the school's owner and founder, Frank Markasian (Byrnes), has built it into one of the finest schools of its kind. Amidst constantly brewing quandaries, Pete is intent that Horizon be a safe sanctuary where the teens can sort out feelings and get confidential help from counselors. But for the students, there's no free rid. Everyone shares in the chores and abides by the rules: no drugs, no sex and no violence. A recovering addict himself, Pete, who had turned to heroin when he couldn't take the pressure of being a high-flying Wall Street hot shot, tirelessly dedicates himself to helping teens rebuild their lives and give them hope, like Frank once gave him.

Pete and his colleagues, including high-energy Sohie Becker (Loder), take care of such teen charges as handsome, athletically-built Scott Barringer (Christensen), the school's newest student who harbors a painful secret; the seductive Shelby Merrick (Cook), a former street kid; Juliette Waybourne (Ory), a bulimic beauty queen; the gentle, well-meaning Ezra Friedkin (Downes), a pawn in his parents' acrimonious divorce, whose ultra-sensitivity forced him to turn to ketamine; Katherine Anne Cabot (McClure), an African-American with adoptive white parents who lapsed into a depression triggered by racial ambivalence; and Auggie Ciceros (Vargas), a survivor on the fringe of gang life, who has been hiding incredible talent. With Pete and Sophie determined to help them unleash their feelings, the teens will test each other, battle their inner demons, and, finally, make strides to overcome their internal strife and change their ways for a better future.

Fox Family Channel, which premiered on August 15, 1998 as a revitalized version of The Family Channel, is a division of International Family Entertainment, Inc. The family-targeted basic cable network available in 74.5 million homes nationwide delivers a dynamic mix of original and acquired series, specials and movies for the entire family.