NBC TEAMS UP WITH IVILLAGE FOR ‘PARENTHOOD’ CONTEST TO PROMOTE SEASON TWO OF THE NBC HIT SERIES

Winner Will Receive a Trip For Two to Los Angeles and A Visit to the Set of ‘Parenthood’

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – September 14, 2010 – NBC is teaming up with iVillage, the essential digital brand for women, for a special “Parenthood” contest in anticipation of the second season of the hit series.  NBC and iVillage are calling for users to share their thoughts about parenthood by writing a blog post on one of three topics including, “Have I become my mother/father?,” “Do parents really know best?” or “Friend or mom?” One contest winner will win a trip for two to Los Angeles and an exclusive visit to the set of “Parenthood,” premiering tonight Tuesday, September 14 (10-11 p.m. ET) on NBC.  The winning post will be featured on iVillage.

Contestants can submit entries at iVillage.com/parenthood or theparenthoodcontest.com.  After entering a post, fans of the series can also share the entry on Facebook, Twitter, or personal blogs, encouraging readers to vote for them in the contest.  A panel of judges from iVillage and “Parenthood” will choose their favorite entry from those posts that received the most votes.  For contest rules go to http://www.theparenthoodcontest.com/rules.

In addition, NBC.com will gather video posts in support of the contest via mobile truck in New York on Tuesday, September 14.  Participants will answer one of the three topics and all videos will be posted to http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/your-stories/.

“We are once again excited to bring people together to talk about such a relatable and universally important topic,” said Adam Stotsky, President, NBC Entertainment Marketing. “This contest gives online users a forum to share their personal stories relating to the many facets of family life.”

“This contest combines two elements that iVillage is very passionate about – community and parenting,” said Catherine Balsam-Schwaber, Senior Vice President of Marketing, iVillage. “iVillage is a one-of-kind  digital destination where millions of women go to share their experiences with others just like them. The contest is a natural extension of that.”

“Parenthood” is a one-hour drama inspired by the box-office hit of the same name.  This re-imagined and updated Universal Media Studios/Imagine Television production follows the trials and tribulations of the very large, very colorful and imperfect Braverman family.Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham, “Gilmore Girls”) is a financially-strapped single mother trying to raise two teenaged kids, the bright but rebellious Amber (Mae Whitman, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) and sullen and sensitive Drew (Miles Heizer, “ER.”)

On the home front, Sarah and her kids live with Sarah’s larger-than-life, headstrong father, Zeek (Craig T. Nelson, “Family Stone,” “Coach”), and pillar-of-strength mother Camille, (Bonnie Bedelia, “Heart Like a Wheel”), who are continuously dealing with their own marital issues.

Meanwhile, Sarah’s sister and complete antithesis, Julia (Erika Christensen, “Traffic”) is a successful corporate attorney trying to juggle work and motherhood, alongside her loving but increasingly restless stay-at-home husband, Joel (Sam Jaeger, “Eli Stone”).

Commitment-phobe Crosby (Dax Shepard, “Baby Mama”), Sarah’s younger brother, is helping raise a five-year-old son he had out-of-wedlock with former flame Jasmine (Joy Bryant “Antwone Fisher”).

However, it’s Adam (Peter Krause, “Six Feet Under”), the oldest Braverman sibling, who has had to relinquish his expectations about what constitutes a “normal” family as he, his quietly forceful wife Kristina (Monica Potter, “Trust Me”) and independent-minded teenage daughter, Haddie (Sarah Ramos, “American Dreams”), struggle to cope with their eccentric son and Haddie’s little brother, Max (Max Burkholder, “Brother and Sisters”), who has Asperger’s Syndrome.

Although each sibling and family has its own share of life and everyday challenges to grapple with, they still manage to be there for each other in their hours of need.

Serving as executive producers are Oscar winners Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (“A Beautiful Mind,” “Frost/Nixon”), Jason Katims (“Friday Night Lights”) – who wrote the pilot episode — and David Nevins (“Friday Night Lights,” “Arrested Development”).

For more information, visit: http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/

NBC Entertainment develops and schedules programming for the network’s primetime, late-night, and daytime schedules. NBC’s quality programs and balanced lineup have earned the network critical acclaim, numerous awards, and ratings success. The network has earned more Emmy Awards than any network in television history.

NBC’s roster of popular scripted series includes critically acclaimed comedies like Emmy winners “The Office,” starring Steve Carell, and “30 Rock,” starring Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey. Veteran, award-winning dramas on NBC include the “Law & Order” brand, and “Chuck.” Unscripted series for NBC include the hits “The Biggest Loser,” “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “America’s Got Talent.”  NBC is #1 in late night’s key ratings races with “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Last Call with Carson Daly” and “Saturday Night Live.” NBC Daytime’s “Days of our Lives” consistently finishes among daytime’s top programs in the valuable women 18-34 category. Saturday mornings the network broadcasts Qubo on NBC, a three-hour block that features fun, entertaining, and educational programming for kids, including the award-winning, 3-D animated series “Veggie Tales.”  For more information visit www.nbc.com.

About iVillage:

iVillage is the largest content-driven community for women online reaching 30 + million unique visitors per month (comScore July 2010).  With over four million plus conversations annually and thousands of specific brands talked about weekly, iVillage is at the center of her digital routine.  Everyday women come to iVillage to connect, share advice, find life tools and engage in conversations that matter most to them in areas of Pregnancy & Parenting, Health, Food, Entertainment and Beauty & Style. Additional businesses and brand extensions within iVillage include iVillage UK, NBC Digital Health Network, Astrology.com and GardenWeb.  iVillage Inc., is based in New York City, and is part of the NBC Universal Women & Lifestyle Entertainment Networks Group. Join iVillage’s Facebook group at www.facebook.com/ivillage and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ivillage.