Prolonged Writers Strike Opens More Doors For New Independent Television Dramas Such as Whittaker Bay That Debuts Saturday



While it's pencils down for Writers Guild of America entering its bitter third month in Hollywood, it's thumbs up for the hot new teen TV drama "Whittaker Bay" debuting Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008, 11:30 a.m. on Superstation WGN. Saturday mornings will never be the same when TV programming moves to a whole new level.

The new show unveils the story of four families living in a pristine community along coastal North Carolina: The Bannigans, Visteds, Coles and Hawkins. "On the surface this close-knit group of suburban elitists seem to have a perfect life, then unexpected things begin to happen," said Clint Allen, producer, H20 Entertainment, who chose to shoot the series in Wilmington, North Carolina, for a lot of reasons.

"Whittaker Bay" is a teen drama in the vein of "Dawson's Creek." And as was the case with "Dawson's," the incentives offered by the state of North Carolina to film there gave Allen the opportunity to create a low-budget TV series with high-quality results.

Actor Timothy Woodward Jr., who plays the lead character Brayden Bannigan, feels humbled by his experience on "Whittaker Bay."It's exciting to be a small part of something so big. The entire cast and crew are unbelievable."

Allen and Woodward were featured recently in a cover story in Hollywood Reporter at the beginning of the writers' strike. Woodward described Wilmington, NC, this way: "It's just a completely different environment," he noted. "The sets are a lot friendlier -- there's a lot more people who are hungry, who are straight out of school. But you also have people that have worked on all these major shows like (the CW's) 'One Tree Hill' and 'Surface.' It's not like New York or L.A., where it's more uptight, competitive and cutthroat. It's a lot of fun all the time," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

The cast features the show stopping blonde twins -- Sabrina and Kelly Aldridge from MTV'S "8th And Ocean." The twins also starred in the 2006 hit Christmas comedy "Deck The Halls" with Danny Devito and Matthew Broderick and it was on DVD last year. Sabrina Aldridge and Kelly Aldridge have been taking the entertainment industry by storm in expanding their expanding their careers from modeling and television to acting on the big screen. Sabrina Aldridge was also cast in April Fools Day, a thriller, in theaters April 2008.

"Kelly and Sabrina have been great to work with and they're very talented girls, with great attitudes," said Associate Producer Michael Kuhn, who observed that the writer's strike has thrown more focus on Whittaker Bay, a drama which has recently sealed an international distribution deal with NBC Universal Reveille International.

In the first episode summer begins in the pristine town of Whittaker Bay. "The Party" A party at the Visted house brings together the kids of Whittaker Bay for the first time this summer. Old friends are reunited as new friendships are formed, then the drama starts to kick in high gear. For more about Whittaker Bay visit: www.WhittakerBay.com or www.Myspace.com/WhittakerBay.

(Editors: For more media interviews contact George McQuade or Aida Mayo, MAYO Communications, Los Angeles, www.MayoCommunications.com or call 818-340-5300 or 818-618-9229.)





Prolonged Writers Strike Opens More Doors For New Independent Television Dramas Such as Whittaker Bay That Debuts Saturday