The N Unveils Its First Dramatic Mini-Series 'Miracle's Boys' in Celebration of Black History Month Friday, February 18 - Sunday, February 20

Acclaimed Miracle's Boys Directors Include Spike Lee, LeVar Burton, Ernest Dickerson, Bill Duke And Neema Barnette

Miracle's Boys Theme Song Written and Performed By Musician/Rapper NAS

Guest Star Appearances By NY Yankees' Jorge Posada and NY Giants' Tiki Barber

* (Color art and tapes available upon request)

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 14 -- The N, the nighttime network for teens, will premiere Miracle's Boys, the network's first-ever dramatic mini-series that centers around three half-Puerto Rican, half-African-American, orphaned teenage brothers living in Harlem, NY and their struggle to hold their family together. The mini-series, which was shot entirely on location in Harlem, will premiere in three, hour-long installments on The N during Black History Month. Miracle's Boys (Part 1) will premiere on Friday, February 18, from 9:00-10:00 p.m. (ET), with Parts II and III premiering that same weekend on Saturday, February 19 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) and Sunday, February 20 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), respectively. Miracle's Boys is based on the award-winning novel of the same name, by young adult author Jacqueline Woodson.

Miracle's Boys was directed by Spike Lee, LeVar Burton, Bill Duke, Ernest Dickerson and Neema Barnette. In addition, the Miracle's Boys theme song was written and performed by musician/rapper NAS. The three-part mini-series also features appearances by NY Yankees' All-Star catcher Jorge Posada and NY Giants' running back Tiki Barber who play baseball coaches of the Harlem Teen League.

Miracle's Boys is executive produced by Nikki Silver, Orly Wiseman and David C. McCourt for On Screen Entertainment, in conjunction with Tonya Lewis Lee.

The character-driven teen series reflects the humor and drama of the everyday lives of the Bailey brothers -- Lafayette (14 years old), Charlie (16 years old) and Ty'ree (20 years old), whose beloved mother, Milagros (Spanish for 'Miracle'), has recently died and whose father is also deceased. This captivating and honest story begins the day Charlie comes home after spending a year in juvenile detention. Charlie returns to find Ty'ree in charge of the family, but Ty'ree is barely an adult himself. Lafayette idolizes Charlie and tries to get him involved in his life until Lafayette realizes his secret crush has eyes for his brother. The series follows the trio as they are faced with the challenges of raising themselves. The drama is fueled by the sites and sounds of this historic Harlem neighborhood, which serves as a backdrop in the story of the three brothers who struggle against large odds. Brother to brother to brother, will they survive?

Meet the Bailey brothers:

-- Ty'ree (POOCH HALL) - After the death of their mother, the oldest brother makes a tough decision. He puts his life on hold and gives up a scholarship to MIT in order to stay home and take care of his two younger brothers.

-- Charlie (SEAN NELSON) - The middle brother has just returned home after a one-year stint at a juvenile detention center. He has a major chip on his shoulder and doesn't particularly care for Ty'ree's new role as the head of the household.

-- Lafayette (JULITO MCCULLUM) - The youngest brother, mislabeled the "quiet one," is caught in the middle of his battling brothers and struggles to maintain his normal 14-year-old life of baseball and girls. Lafayette sustains a blinding love for Charlie, who always disappoints him.

The following is a description of each episode:

Episode 1 (Spike Lee): New Charlie: Charlie returns home after a year in Juvenile detention to find that everything has changed. After the death of their mother, Ty'ree is now in charge and Lafayette discovers that "new Charlie" is not the brother he knew.

Episode 2 (Ernest Dickerson): In the Game of Life: Lafayette's crush on Angelina grows. After a humiliating return to school and a first meeting with his parole officer, Charlie hooks up with a bad crowd.

Episode 3 (Neema Barnette): Who's to Blame?: Ty'ree meets the girl of his dreams. Lafayette throws a party that gets out of hand. Charlie is missing and the social worker is on the way.

Episode 4 (Bill Duke): Miracle's Song: Charlie steals money from the family safe. Lafayette needs help to make the team. Ty'ree's parenting skills are pushed to the limit.

Episode 5 (LeVar Burton): Free Day: Lafayette tries to tell Angelina how he feels. Charlie stays out all night and falls in deeper with the wrong crowd.

Episode 6 (Spike Lee): Bond of Brothers: Charlie's arrest and confession brings the family together.

About On Screen Entertainment

On Screen Entertainment is the newly formed production and development company run by the Emmy-award winning producers of the acclaimed children's series, Reading Rainbow. In addition to Miracle's Boys, On Screen has an impressive library of television series and development properties including What's Going On?, a 10-part documentary series airing on Showtime, Outward Bound airing on Discovery Kids and The Zack Files re-airing on Showtime Family. The company is currently in development on the feature film adaptation of Lois Lowry's Newbery-award winning "The Giver" produced with Jeff Bridges and Walden Media and Walter Dean Myer's "Monster" in conjunction with Overbrook Productions. Other book properties in development include Christopher Paul Curtis' "The Watson's Go To Birmingham - 1963" and Gail Carson Levine's "The Wish."

About Tonya Lewis Lee

Producer, writer, attorney Tonya Lewis Lee co-authored the book Please Baby Please with her husband Spike Lee and produced Just for Me, an animated interstitial series based on the book for Nickelodeon. Most recently, Lee was the executive producer on The N's first documentary film, "I Sit Where I Want: The Legacy of Brown V. Board of Education." Since 1998, she has produced Black History Month interstitials for Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite featuring celebrities including Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah. Lee has written for Glamour magazine and appeared on Lifetime television to discuss the issues of women and race. She serves on the boards of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Children for Children Foundation and is also a member of the New York Bar. In July 2004, Hyperion Books launched Gotham Diaries, Lee's first novel.

The N, the nighttime network for teens, is a programming arm of MTV Networks and is currently available in 43 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite television. The N's mission is to be the authentic voice for teens and help them figure out their lives with relevant, topical programming on-air and online at the network's web site http://www.the-n.com. The N airs everyday from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (ET). The N and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

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