AMC Announces Small Town Line Up for New Unscripted Series SHOWVILLE

AMC announced today the lineup of eight towns across the country where talent will be scouted for its newest unscripted series, SHOWVILLE, (formerly titled "Road Show"). Created and executive produced by Laurie Girion ("Cheerleader Nation," "Welcome to Sweetie Pies") and distributed internationally by Sony Pictures Television, the series organizes competitions in each town, featuring local talent who get the chance of a Lifetime to be in the spotlight. Actor Alec Mapa and choreographer Lisette Bustamante were named as the series' performance coaches, working with the show's finalists each week to prep them for their performance in front of a live, local audience. "Showville" consists of eight one-hour episodes and premieres this spring.

"Showville" will host open call auditions in the following towns, offering locals of all ages - from singers and dancers to comedy acts and jugglers - an opportunity to win $10,000 in prize money:
· Holland, Michigan;
· Kingston, Rhode Island;
· Walla Walla, Washington;
· San Marcos, Texas;
· Hugo, Oklahoma;
· Mount Airy, North Carolina;
· Athens, Ohio; and
· Fairfield, Iowa,

As the series' performance coaches, Mapa and Bustamante will be given 48 Hours to mentor each town's four finalists in preparation for the "big show." The audience gets to know the finalists and their back-stories as they are coached over two days with the goal of bringing out the best of their abilities. The final competition will take place at a well-known town venue where an audience comprised of locals, including families, friends and neighbors, will join together and ultimately be responsible for selecting the victor.

Mapa got his big show business break when he was cast as the opera diva, Song Liling, in Broadway's M. Butterfly. He went on to direct the critically acclaimed one-man shows, "Alec Mapa: Baby Daddy" and "I Remember Mapa" and is also a renowned director in the comedy circuit. In addition, Mapa has appeared in numerous films and television shows, including "Marley & Me," "Desperate Housewives," "Ugly Betty," "Seinfeld," and "You Don't Mess With The Zohan."

Bustamante is no stranger to the entertainment industry and has spent the last decade dancing alongside superstars including Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson, Usher and Britney Spears on stages all over the globe and has been featured in commercials for Gap, Pepsi, Pringles, iPod and Sprite. Lisette's other credits include acting as artistic director and choreographer for the 2005 Latin Grammy Awards as well as for Latin sensation Paulina Rubio's "Paul-Latina World Tour" and "Grand City Pop Life Tour." Also, with help from her longtime choreography partner, Bustamante created a seminar for up and coming artists called "Creating Opportunities" which empowers young dancers, singers, and choreographers to expand their realm of thinking and create revenue and business opportunities for themselves in the ever changing entertainment industry.

"Showville" celebrates people's passion for performing. The series centers on small town talent shows, and the comedy that ensues when a little bit of Hollywood shows up to give people who have long submerged their artistic dreams of becoming a star a chance to be the big fish in the little pond of their hometown.

About AMC
AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC's original stories include "Mad Men," "Breaking Bad," "The Walking Dead," "Hell on Wheels" and "Low Winter Sun." AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with its slate of unscripted original series, as well as curated movie franchises like AMC's Can't Get Enough and AMC's Crazy About. AMC is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc. and its sister networks include IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.

About Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, around the world and for a multitude of platforms. In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. SPT has 18 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 15 countries outside the U.S. and also maintains offices in 33 countries. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio includes 124 channel feeds available in 159 countries, reaching more than 800 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns Production Company Embassy Row and is a part owner of cable channel Game Show Network (GSN), 3D channel 3net, premier horror/thriller website and VOD service FEARnet and national U.S media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in U.S. digital businesses including FEARnet, DrOz.com and PlayStation.

Don't Miss a TV News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Spring season, discounts & more...