ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING PRODUCER ARNOLD SHAPIRO SHINES A LIGHT ON PRISON AND JAIL DETERRENCE PROGRAMS AIMED AT HELPING TROUBLED TEENS
A&E brings its hit original series "Beyond Scared Straight" back for a second season with a special 90-minute premiere on Thursday, August 18 at 10PM ET/PT on A&E.
The series, which became A&E's most-watched series premiere in network history, profiles dramatic prison and jail deterrence programs aimed at keeping today's at-risk teens from becoming tomorrow's prisoners. "Beyond Scared Straight" is inspired by "Scared Straight!," the Academy Award and multiple Emmy-winning documentary film by Arnold Shapiro.
Each one-hour episode focuses on a different existing "behind bars" program in the U.S. and follows four at-risk teens -- before they attend the program, throughout their day behind bars, immediately afterwards -- and then follows up with them one-month later to see the lasting impact of the experience on their lives. A combination of confrontation, information and communication, these youth-offender programs put boys and girls of all ethnicities, ages 11 to 18, into intensive one-day "incarceration" sessions that show them the consequences of bad choices and criminal behavior.
In the season premiere, a group of defiant teens visit the Mecklenburg County Jail in Charlotte, NC, and go head-to-head with terrifying inmates and an even tougher female jail deputy. This new season's highlights include other never-before-seen moments including: teens kept in cells all night in a unique overnight program; one teen who is thrown out for defiant, combative behavior; teens witness inmates being tasered and extracted from cells; teens visit the morgue; teens required to wear "scarlet letter" signs listing their offenses and more.
The series premiere of "Beyond Scared Straight" was A&E's most-watched original series launch of all-time, attracting a record-breaking 3.7 million total viewers and 2.2 million in adults 18-49 and 2.1 million in adults 25-54.
"Beyond Scared Straight" is produced by Arnold Shapiro Productions for A&E Network. Executive Producer is Arnold Shapiro. Co-Executive Producer is Paul J. Coyne. A&E Executive Producers are David McKillop and Laura Fleury.
