New Teen TV Drama To Start Filming And Production Let The TV Wars Begin Between The North And South"

Palmetto Pointe" -A hot new teen drama, based on real life situations begins filming next week.

Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) July 7, 2005 -- Move over reality TV, the reality here is two teen dramas battling out for big bucks and the big teen TV audience this fall, and it has the North against the South. A hot new true-to-life drama flaring in South Carolina is called Palmetto Pointe." It is pitted against Warner Bros. One Tree Hill," in North Carolina. The big difference is Palmetto Pointe" is based on real teen life experiences that will touch people's lives forever.

Palmetto Pointe" is the flagship teen drama for Paxson Communications Corporations PAX TV network, which rebranded itself to i (ionline.tv) on July 1, 2005, while realigning its mission as a provider of independently produced television that reaches 84 percent of U.S. households-approximately 91 million homes.

Move over One Tree Hill"! The new teen drama Palmetto Pointe," which is already being compared in several publications to hit TV dramas, such as "90210" and "Dawsons Creek," is taking Hollywood by surprise and begins filming July 15th in Charleston, South Carolina. Additionally, its the first TV series filmed in the Palmetto State.

"With a fresh new cast that has been called 'excellent by the Reel Carolina Film and Television Journal, the show is sure to excel", said Executive Producer John Cleveland Kearns. Timothy Woodward, Jr. and Brent Lovell are just two of the hot upcoming young actors that Palmetto Pointe has to offer." Casting Director David Schifter has referred to them as the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon" of the Carolinas.

The TV show is slated to debut in August, airing Sunday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on i.

Unlike other TV shows, our shows are based on real life situations, the cultural shock and wild and crazy alternating experiences of going from high school to college," explained Kearns, whos filming in Summerville, South Carolina. Were reaching all of the demographics and issues that hit home."

The first show deals with child abuse and the series will tackle everything from teen pregnancy, alcoholism to date rape. Palmetto Pointe" was originally filmed in North Carolina, but South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford recently signed into law, tax breaks and rebates to production companies that film TV shows, movies and commercials in the state. Sky Entertainment Group filmed the pilot in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina.

Palmetto Pointe" takes you for a ride with six recent high school graduates going to college. The cast features several fresh hot and upcoming stars along with some well known stars from other hit teen shows, including Nina Repeta, who played Bessie Potter, actress Katie Holmes' sister in Dawsons Creek."

Some of the scenes will be filmed at the Summerville-based ITS International Talent Studios, while other scenes will be shot on location in various low country spots, including downtown Charleston, The College of Charleston, Folly Beach and Joe Riley Stadium, home of the Charleston Riverdogs baseball team. One of the series main characters, Tristan Sutton (Woodward), is a minor-league baseball player who comes back to his hometown of Palmetto Pointe to face his demons and to play the game of his life.

Under the new state incentives, major studio productions will be exempt from local and state sales and use taxes. They also get a 15 percent rebate on spending and taxable wages in South Carolina. Like Canada, South Carolina has become a hotbed for runaway movie production" since the state opened its film office in 1980. Cold Mountain," a movie about the Civil War, had some scenes shot in South Carolina. The state has also been the backdrop for scores of other films, including The Big Chill" and Radio." The films have contributed to South Carolinas boost in tourism, the states number one industry.

The other big North vs. South battle is over production dollars. At more than $1 million to produce a show, both North Carolina and South Carolina are trying to keep productions in their territory. However, Warner Bros. has only guaranteed the One Tree Hill" series one more year, so they wont be moving south. As for Palmetto Pointe," the Carolina rivalry heats up over TV teen dramas, and the show producers know they have a winner. "If our show can affect just one persons life in a positive way, then we have done our job," said Woodward. So I say, Let the TV Wars begin between the North and the South."

To promote the teen drama nationally, Sky Entertainment Group in association with Kearns Entertainment, Inc., which is filming the series, announced today that it has retained MAYO Communications of Los Angeles for media relations and national publicity. MAYO, among other prestigious awards, was honored for Best Media Placement" two-years-in-a-row by the Public Relations Society of America.

[Editors: For national media interviews, images, trailers, contact George McQuade, MAYO Communications (www.MayoPR.com ) or 818-340-5300 or 818-618-9229

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