Season Two of the Hit Comedy Series Burning Love Heats Up the Web Today on Yahoo! Screen

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yahoo!, Paramount’s Insurge Pictures, and Omnicom Media Group agency PHD present their Valentine’s Day gift to the Internet today: the launch of the second season of Burning Love, the popular comedy series created by Erica Oyama that spoofs reality dating shows. The second season of the hit web comedy is live now on Yahoo! Screen (www.yahoo.com/burninglove).

“Burning Love was always conceived to be a Web show, and Yahoo! is the perfect partner to make it a success”

The second season of Burning Love follows Julie (June Diane Raphael), who failed to capture Mark Orlando’s heart the first time around, as she searches for love among a group of guys who are hopefully, but also perhaps not, there for the right reasons. This installment of Burning Love is written by season one writer Erica Oyama (Childrens Hospital) and directed by Ken Marino (Childrens Hospital, Party Down). Season two features new cast members Jerry O’Connell, Michael Cera, Adam Brody, Colin Hanks, Joe Lo Truglio, Ryan Hansen, Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, Nick Thune, Martin Starr and Kumail Nanjiani who join returning cast members Ken Marino, June Diane Raphael, Michael Ian Black and Adam Scott in the quest to find true love. New episodes will go live every Thursday and Friday starting today.

Media planning and buying agency PHD has signed on as the exclusive sponsor of the second and third season of Burning Love. Under the terms of the landmark deal, PHD bought all of the advertising space for the series, placed several of their clients within the show via product integrations for brands including Breathe Right and Tums Freshers, and purchased the advertising around the show on Yahoo!.

“Non-traditional programming requires a non-traditional approach,” says Kelley Elizabeth Train, Director of Digital Investment at PHD US. “ Everything about Burning Love – from content to distribution to promotion – is about connecting with viewers in a fresh and unexpected way. Buying out the inventory allows us to make the most of that connection for our clients.”

Discovering and watching comedy online is a daily habit for many Yahoo! users and with premium original video programming like Burning Love, Yahoo! keeps millions of people entertained every day. Yahoo! Screen (http://screen.yahoo.com) is Yahoo!’s video destination and the home to Burning Love and the Yahoo! Screen Comedy Channel (http://screen.yahoo.com/comedy/) which houses several acclaimed original comedy shows.

“It’s no surprise to us that Burning Love is adored by fans and critics alike,” said Erin McPherson, Yahoo! vice president and head of video and originals. “We aim to make our users laugh every day, and the next two seasons of Burning Love have all the humor, smart writing and great celebrity cameos our users are expecting. We are also honored that PHD chose to work with Yahoo! and this series to showcase its clients’ brands.”

"Burning Love was always conceived to be a Web show, and Yahoo! is the perfect partner to make it a success," said Amy Powell, president, Paramount Digital Entertainment. "In season 2 we are bringing fans more great talent and characters, funny story lines and with PHD on board, smart product integrations into the show."

A true web hit, the first season of Burning Love launched domestically on Yahoo! Screen last summer to critical acclaim. Nearly 11 million people have watched season one of Burning Love since its launch on Yahoo! Screen this past summer, putting the web series on par with some of the most-viewed scripted cable programming of all time. The acclaimed series has been called “ridiculously awesome” (Buzz Sugar), one of the “top ten TV moments” (Rolling Stone), “officially a breakout [web series]” (Adweek), and “a hilarious parody series” (Entertainment Weekly). Season one followed fireman Mark Orlando (Ken Marino) in his search for the perfect woman to marry, or to at least be engaged. Burning Love featured an impressive line-up of comedic actors from film and television including Marino, Ben Stiller, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Michael Ian Black, Ken Jeong, Adam Scott, Abigail Spencer, Natasha Leggero, June Diane Raphael, Noureen DeWulf, Janet Varney, Kerri Kenney Silver, Paul Scheer, Beth Dover. Many more surprise appearances are in store for Season 3 Burning Down The House.

Burning Love is executive produced by Red Hour’s Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld and Mike Rosenstein, Abominable Pictures’ Jonathan Stern, Ken Marino and Erica Oyama’s Dancing Workfriend. Paramount’s Insurge Pictures is distributing the project and Yahoo! is the first window distribution partner.

The new season of Burning Love is available at www.yahoo.com/burninglove. Follow Mark Orlando on Twitter at @BurningLoveMark, Julie at @BurningLoveJul or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BurningLoveShow

BURNING LOVE SEASON 2 TRAILER EMBED CODE:

BURNING LOVE PHOTOS AND ASSETS: http://www.paramount.com/webmaster/instructions.php?mid=104

TV outlets can request video from bahareh@yahoo-inc.com

About Yahoo!

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About Paramount

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

About PHD

Founded in London in 1990 as the first planning-led media agency, PHD is a proven innovator in communications planning and buying across broadcast, print, digital, mobile, social and emerging media. PHD is a global network with over 2,500 employees in more than 60 countries and is built on a culture of thought leadership, creativity and innovation.

In 2010, PHD won nine ‘Media Agency of the Year’ awards following numerous high profile new business wins across markets including UK, USA, Canada, China, New Zealand, Australia and Asia Pacific. It continues to deliver on its philosophy of “Finding a Better Way” for its clients. The PHD network is part of the Omnicom Media Group (www.omnicommediagroup.com), a division of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC)(www.phdnetwork.com)