MTV PROVES IT'S COOL TO BE "AWKWARD," RENEWING THE HIT SERIES FOR A THIRD SEASON AND UPPING THE EPISODE ORDER TO 20

Tune-in to the All-New Episode Tomorrow Night, Thursday, July 26 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY (July 25, 2012) - MTV announced today the pick-up of a third season of its critically acclaimed scripted comedy series "Awkward." Season three will feature 20 episodes, nearly double the number of its first and second seasons.

"Lauren Iungerich's creative vision, coupled with this extraordinarily talented cast, make 'Awkward' the perfect series for MTV," said David Janollari, Head of MTV Programming. "Critics and our audience alike have fallen in love with 'Awkward,' and we're thrilled to bring this terrific series back for a third, supersized season."

Ashley Rickards, who stars as "Jenna Hamilton," received a nomination for a Critics Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, and was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her performance. Beau Mirchoff who plays "Matty," recently won the Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Breakout Star" for his role on the show.

"Awkward" currently ranks as a one of top cable series on Thursday nights and draws 1.8 million total viewers each week. The series, in both season one and two, is the #1 show across all TV in its time period among W12-34 and Teens. In season two, "Awkward" is up six percent from its previous season.

On the social front, "Awkward" continues to engage users every week, regularly ranking as one of the top five most social shows across cable and broadcast, according to Social Guide. The series has also seen its social footprint more than quadruple in size since the end of its first season.

"Awkward" is part of MTV's continued commitment to scripted programming, along with the hit drama "Teen Wolf," which was recently picked up for a third season as well, featuring a 24 episode order. Next in line is new comedy series "The Inbetweeners" set to debut on Monday, August 20 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the comedic drama "Underemployed" from Emmy-nominated creator Craig Wright, which will premiere this fall on the network.

On tomorrow night's all-new episode airing Thursday, July 26 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT, Valentine's Day has arrived and is dividing the school between swooning lovers and jealous haters. Jenna thinks Jake is using Matty as his covert Cupid to plan the perfect date, but is confused to discover the intel was for his night out with new crush Courtney - turning Jenna's perfect night into the accidental double date from hell. Click here for a special sneak peek.

"Awkward" stars Ashley Rickards as Jenna, Beau Mirchoff as Matty, Molly Tarlov as Sadie, Jillian Rose Reed as Tamara, Brett Davern as Jake, Nikki DeLoach as Lacey, Desi Lydic as Valerie, Jessica Lu as Ming, Mike Faiola as Kevin and Greer Grammer as Lissa.

The series was created by Lauren Iungerich. Iungerich and Erin Ehrlich serve as executive producers.

For more "Awkward" moments, like it on Facebook or follow the show on Twitter.

"Awkward" season two will premiere on MTV's international channels beginning in September 2012.

Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. P12-34 unless noted. Through 7/19/12. Ranked on 000s.

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.