USA Network's 'PLAYING HOUSE' and Easter Seals Partner to Support Early Childhood Development

USA Network's 'PLAYING HOUSE' and Easter Seals Partner to Support Early Childhood Development

Season-Long Effort to Highlight Easter Seals' "Make the First Five Count" Program Through Original On-Air, Digital and Social Content Stars Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair

NEW YORK, Aug. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- USA Network today announced that critically-acclaimed series PLAYING HOUSE and Easter Seals, a leading provider of early childhood services, are partnering to help raise awareness of the importance of monitoring childhood development and to provide critical information, resources and support to families.

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Kicking off during PLAYING HOUSE's premiere on Tuesday, August 4 at 10/9c, the season-long partnership includes special in-show story integration; PSAs with co-stars Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair; viewing parties at Easter Seals affiliate chapters around the county; and extensive social media content highlighting critical resources, including a free online screening tool for tracking childhood development during the first five years of life.

Easter Seals and USA Network are committed to ensuring children of all abilities have the support they need through life's earliest milestones. To celebrate the partnership, Easter Seals Make the First Five Count launched a free, downloadable activity book for kids. The printable coloring pages double as a guide for parents to learn about the five key areas of development and the importance of monitoring their child's growth.

"Every year more than 1 million children will enter kindergarten with an undiagnosed developmental delay," said Katy Neas, Easter Seals' Executive Vice President of Government Relations. "We are thrilled to work with PLAYING HOUSE to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood development screenings. While each child is unique and develops at his or her own pace, regular screenings are crucial because they help parents know where their child is in meeting developmental milestones."

The critically-acclaimed comedy "Playing House" returns for season two with an innovative windowing structure that, each week, will allow viewers to preview the next week's episode on their Video-On-Demand platforms. Childhood best friends Maggie Caruso (Lennon Parham) and Emma Crawford (Jessica St. Clair) are in store for one of their biggest adventures yet - raising a baby. This season, Maggie and Emma navigate their way through life as co-parents to Maggie's daughter, Charlotte. The colorful residents of Pinebrook, Conn., also return, including Emma's first love, Mark (Keegan Michael Key) and her eccentric mom, Gwen (Jane Kaczmarek). The series is from Universal Cable Productions; in addition to St. Clair and Parham, executive producers include Ravi Nandan of A24 Films ("Hesher") and Scot Armstrong of American Work, Inc. ("Old School," "Hangover 2").

About USA Network:
USA Network, the leader in cable entertainment, offers a powerful stable of dramatic, comedic and unscripted originals in more than 102 million U.S. homes. The network also features spectacular live television, a dynamic portfolio of acquired series and the best in blockbuster theatrical films and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. USA's award-winning website is located at http://www.usanetwork.com. Watch USA Network anywhere: On Demand, online or across mobile and connected TVs.

About Easter Seals
Easter Seals is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical disabilities and other special needs. For nearly 100 years, we have been offering help, hope, and answers to children and adults living with disabilities, and to the families who love them. Through therapy, training, education and support services, Easter Seals creates life-changing solutions so that people with disabilities can live, learn, work and play. To learn more about Easter Seals and services in communities nationwide, visit www.easterseals.com or www.makethefirstfivecount.org

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SOURCE Easter Seals

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Easter Seals

CONTACT: Leah Sparkes, USA Network, 818-777-6682, leah.sparkes@nbcuni.com; Elsa Remak , Easter Seals, 312-551-7154, eremak@easterseals.com

Web Site: http://www.easterseals.com


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