MTV SET TO LAUNCH AN ALL-NEW FUNNY FEMALE COMEDY LINE-UP WITH THE RETURN OF SCRIPTED HIT "AWKWARD" ALONG WITH NEW SERIES "GIRL CODE"

Season Three of "Awkward" to Premiere on Tuesday, April 16 with Two Back-to-Back Episodes Beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and "Girl Code" to Debut on Tuesday, April 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT

NEW YORK, NY (March 18, 2013) - MTV will debut the first half of its expanded 20-episode third season of the critically acclaimed series "Awkward" on Tuesday, April 16 with an hour-long premiere event featuring the first two episodes back-to-back at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The following week, MTV will debut new series, "Girl Code," a spin-off of the successful comedic series "MTV2's Guy Code" immediately following an all-new "Awkward" on Tuesday, April 23 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

In the first two seasons of "Awkward," Jenna Hamilton tackled the age old questions all teenagers face: "who am I" and "who do I want be with?" Now, as she enters her junior year at Palos Hills High, Jenna is finally confronting the daunting question: "who do I want to be?" Season three picks up with Jenna feeling left behind now that Ming and Tamara start to blossom socially in ways that she hasn't. Once again, Jenna seems to be solely living her life through her relationship with Matty and is starting to question if there is more for her beyond her love life and the life that she knows at Palos Hills.

In the season three premiere episode Jenna's junior year brings a wave of surprises and changes that potentially will impact her future in an indelible way and in the second episode, the death of classmate will leave Jenna to reflect on loss, grieving, and taking responsibility for a secret she's keeping from Matty.

Additionally, MTV.com will be the exclusive home for the first ever "Awkward" webisodes that will have a complementary storyline that is directly linked to an-air arc. The first of the online-only webisodes will be available prior to the April 16 premiere, with subsequent webisodes available throughout the season.

As previously announced, Anthony Michael Hall will join the cast as "Mr. Hart," a sadistic creative writing teacher who pushes students out of their comfort zones and Nolan Funk will play "Collin," a new prep school transfer to Palos Hills. Season three marks the return of "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 third season comes on the heels of a highly successful second season in which the show was Thursday's #1 cable series among P12-34 and averaged a 1.9 rating among P12-34 and 1.9 million total viewers. Additionally, the second season saw 36-percent growth among teens.

MTV's new series "Girl Code" is a strong and smart female driven comedy series bringing millennial viewers a new, hilarious how-to manual full of over the top tips to push the envelope and open the dialogue about the wonders and woes of womanhood. In the same style of irreverent commentary that fans have come to love on MTV2's top rated series "Guy Code," the new MTV series calls on female stand-up comics, actresses and musicians - and even a few guys - to weigh in on the sisterhood that all girls share.

For more ways to connect with "Awkward" follow the show on Twitter @MTVAwkward or like it on Facebook.

"Awkward" was created by Lauren Iungerich. Iungerich and Erin Ehrlich serve as executive producers.

"Girl Code" was developed by Ryan Ling who also serves as Executive Producer. Darin Byrne and Paul Ricci are Executive Producers for MTV. Laura Murphy and Andrew Stuckey are Directors. The series is an original production by Viacom Media Networks.

Awkward will air internationally on MTV channels around the world beginning September 2013.

*Source: Nielsen. Live+SD. Ranked on 000s. Dates: 6/28/12-9/20/12. P12-34 unless noted. Teens: P12-17.

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.