RETURN OF THE �GEEK�

Burbank, CA December 6, 2005

SECOND SEASON OF �BEAUTY AND THE GEEK� BEGINS ITS EIGHT-EPISODE RUN ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

HIT REALITY SERIES FROM ASHTON KUTCHER AND JASON GOLDBERG RETURNS WITH A NEW GROUP OF BEAUTIES AND BRAINIACS

The WB's breakout hit reality show, BEAUTY AND THE GEEK, will return for its second installment on Thursday, January 12, (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET) with eight episodes, it was announced today by the network's President, Entertainment, David Janollari.

�Ashton and Jason have built a business out of producing unique, provocative television, and the second installment of �Geek� delivers on all levels,� said Janollari. �Viewers will love this cast from the moment they see them, and having a show like this will also allow us to rest �Everwood� so it can finish the season with a long stretch of original episodes. We also plan to double-pump �Geek� in the Friday eight o'clock hour, a strong sampling opportunity that will also enable us to finish the season with a fresh string of �What I Like About You� episodes.�

The producing team of Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg (�Punk'd�) recruited a new group of eight women who are academically impaired and eight men who are brilliant but socially challenged. The second installment will remain true to the series' first season format, pairing up couples for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize. This time, however, each mismatched pair competes in brand new activities designed to test intellect, fashion savvy and social skills. The guys are assigned to makeover a room, while the girls do their best to assemble a computer. There's a karaoke session for the men, and a political debate for the ladies. The girls also do a makeover on the guys, then let them test out their new looks during a session of speed-dating. Finally, the whole group travels to Las Vegas for a highly unusual game of strip-poker.

During these competitions, the geek tries to pass his brains on to the beauty, while the beauty tries to turn the geek into a hottie. At the end, each contestant comes out a changed person, and everyone has their eyes on the prize of $250.000.

BEAUTY AND THE GEEK was one of the surprise hits of the summer, delivering outstanding ranks in its time period and impressive growth over the parallel period a year ago. The six original episodes ranked #1 in the Wednesday 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET timeslot among adults 18-34 (2.2/8), persons 12-34 (2.0/8), females 12-34 (2.5/9), teens (1.7/8) and female teens (2.5/11), and finished #2 among women 18-34 (2.5/9), men 18-34 (1.8/7) adults 18-49 (1.9/6) and males 12-34 (1.6/7). The show brought tremendous growth to its time period compared to the same period last year, improving by triple-digits in nearly every demo, including +120% in adults 18-34, +100% in persons 12-34 and +111% in adults 18-49. BEAUTY AND THE GEEK attracted a much younger audience (MEDIAN AGE: 32.4) than the other summer reality hit, �Dancing with the Stars,� which had a median age of 51.2.

From Fox 21 produced by Katalyst Films and 3 Ball Productions with executive producers Ashton Kutcher & Jason Goldberg (�Guess Who,� �Punk'd�), Nick Santora (�The Guardian,� �The Sopranos�), J.D. Roth (�The Biggest Loser,� �For Love or Money�), Todd A. Nelson (�The Biggest Loser,� �For Love or Money�) & John Foy (�The Biggest Loser,� �For Love or Money�).