VH1 Heads Back to Rehab with Dr. Drew Pinsky for a Second Season of 'Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew'

Groundbreaking Project Returns to Help Additional Celebrities In a Series Set To Premiere on VH1 Thursday, October 23 at 10pm*

NEW YORK, Oct. 9 -- VH1 has once again partnered with Dr. Drew Pinsky for a second season of the hit reality series "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew." The series, consisting of eight one-hour episodes, is slated to premiere Thursday, October 23 at 10pm.

Similar to the first cycle, the second season of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" will follow the real-life experiences of celebrity patients undergoing detoxification and treatment at a center in the Los Angeles area. The show will follow Jeff Conaway as he checks back into rehab after a series of back surgeries, setbacks and subsequent reliance on pain medications. Joining him in rehab are Sean Stewart (Sons of Hollywood), Amber Smith (model/actress), Rodney King, Nikki McKibbon (American Idol), Steven Adler (Guns n Roses) and Tawny Kitaen (Actress). Gary Busey, who is 13 years sober from his cocaine addiction, will also be joining the cast to take the journey with the others and to share his experiences on the recovery process.

The series will chronicle the patients' intensive 21-day program with both group and one-on-one therapy and non-traditional therapies like art and music. Returning to the show to help Dr. Drew are drug counselor Bob Forrest and resident technician Shelly Sprague who have each spent years on both sides of the rehab fence. Dr. Drew is also bringing in some additional prominent physicians to help him give the patients supplementary one-on-one care. The patients' families will also be more involved with their recovery programs and, in some cases, will receive treatment themselves. After they completed the program, the patients will be strongly encouraged to continue their treatment in a sober living facility or treatment center for at least three months at VH1's expense.

Dr. Drew is a highly respected practicing MD and assistant clinical professor at KECK USC School of Medicine, who will once again give viewers an unflinching look at exactly how the rehab process works and what it feels like for participants. Dr. Drew hopes to use his celebrity patients to humanize the process and show viewers that treatment is a viable way to break the cycle of addiction.

"Over the course of the first season we were inundated with positive feedback about the series from our viewers and those in the rehab community. Dr Drew is a powerful, positive force for those seeking recovery and I am quite simply amazed not only by the quality of his medical care, but for how much Drew and his team truly care about the people they are treating," said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming and Production, VH1. "This series is a deeply transformative emotional experience in front of the cameras and behind the scenes for everyone involved and I believe it resonates with the viewers because the stakes are so high and the journey is so very human."

While most people know Dr. Drew as the host of the syndicated radio show Loveline and the MTV show of the same name, Dr. Drew is a medical doctor on staff at Huntington Hospital, a board certified addictionologist and service director of the Chemical Dependency Program/Residential Treatment Center, where he has been treating addicts for over 20 years. Although he is an associate professor of clinical psychiatry at the KECK USC School of Medicine, he is not a psychologist or psychiatrist. His book, Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again (Harper-Collins,) is all about what treating addicts is like from a caretaker's perspective. Dr. Drew co-authored the first academic study on celebrities and narcissism. The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Elsevier) in September 2006, and is the first systematic, empirical scholarly study of celebrity personality. Dr. Drew can also be heard during the day Monday thru Friday on the nationally syndicated radio show "Dr. Drew Live."

As it did in the first season, VH1 will present on-air PSA's about addiction and the possibilities of recovery as well as online resources for those in need of assistance.

Additionally, VH1.com will launch a sneak peek of the first episode on October 17 before the on-air premiere. Subsequent episodes will be available on VH1.com following their on-air premiere.

"Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew" is executive produced by John Irwin and Damian Sullivan for Irwin Entertainment. Dr. Drew Pinsky and Howard Lapides are also executive producing. Jeff Olde, Jill Holmes, and Noah Pollack are executive producers for VH1.

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

*All times ET/PT