ABC Family (soon to become Freeform) is adding another unscripted series to its roster.
The Disney-owned cable network announced Wednesday that it has ordered The Letter to series.
Produced by ITV America’s Sirens Media (part of Leftfield Entertainment), the relationship series takes a page from MTV scripted comedy Awkward and explores what happens when friends tell one another what they “really need to hear.”
Each stand-alone episode will feature four friends drawing names anonymously and writing letters to the chosen one and revealing what they think needs to be changed in order to improve and transform the recipient’s life for the better. For one week, each “reader” must follow the rules and instructions outlined in the letter with the events culminating when the letter authors are revealed to their best friends.
Sirens Media’s Rebecca Toth Diefenbach, Valerie Haselton Drescher and Lucilla D’Agostino will exec produce.
The Letter comes as ABC Family is undergoing a rebranding that will kick off in January when it is renamed Freeform. The cabler plans to double its original programming in the next four years under president Tom Ascheim as the network focuses on what it calls “becomers.” ABC Family recently renewed unscripted series Monica the Medium for a second season and handed out a straight-to-series pickup for a comedy based on the life of Nicki Minaj. Its scripted roster also includes Baby Daddy, The Fosters, Switched at Birth, Young & Hungry, Stitchers, Pretty Little Liars, Recovery Road, Kevin From Work and Shadowhunters.
Meanwhile, the futures of unscripted entries Startup U and Next Step Realty: NYC have not yet been determined.
A premiere date and episode count have not yet been determined.
