The cast of East Los High pose for a photo
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Hulu Announces Season Two of East Los High for Summer 2014

Feb 14, 2014

SHELBURNE, VT – Hulu said it has ordered 12 new episodes of the English-language series East Los High, which features an all-Latino cast and explores such real-life issues as teen pregnancy. Last summer, the series consistently ranked among Hulu’s most popular programs.

“The show has this cool, contemporary feel, and feels like East Los Angeles,” Charlotte Koh, head of development for Hulu Originals, said in an interview. “The show will explore new issues this season — domestic abuse, coming out as gay in high school and bullying.”

East Los High is a project of Population Media Center, a nonprofit organization that produces dramas addressing health and human rights issues all over the world. It was Population Media Center’s first partnership with Hulu, and it was Hulu’s first and only series with an all Latino cast.

“We are excited for another season on Hulu. We were thrilled with the first season’s large and dedicated audience and the social impact,” says Katie Elmore Mota, Executive Producer.

The episodes were supplemented with video blogs by characters, key character social media profiles, and other transmedia elements where fans could interact with the program and be exposed to additional elements of the story. More than 98 percent of those who watched the episodes and used the transmedia elements said that they found East Los High’s resources incredibly helpful and 76 percent said they shared those resources with friends. In the first month, more than 30,000 people used the Planned Parenthood widgets on eastloshigh.com.

“We’ve had a role in entertainment programming that educates women and men about family planning and other health and social issues in more than 50 countries,” says Bill Ryerson, president of Population Media Center, “but we realized that some sections of LA have teenage pregnancy rates over 50 percent, making it challenging for half of the young girls to finish high school. We realized we could and should be providing sex education in our own backyard.”

The East Los High team succeeded, with media outlets like Cosmopolitan saying “Escandalo in the best possible way,” and examiner.com saying “Finally, a Latino show we can be proud of.”

To learn more about East Los High season two or to watch season one, visit: www.eastloshigh.com.

ABOUT POPULATION MEDIA CENTER (PMC):

Population Media Center is a nonprofit, international nongovernmental organization, which strives to improve the health and well-being of people around the world through the use of entertainment-education strategies, like serialized dramas on radio and television, in which characters evolve into role models for the audience for positive behavior change. Founded in 1998, PMC has over 15 years of field experience using the Sabido methodology of behavior change communications, impacting more than 50 countries around the world. www.populationmedia.org

ABOUT EAST LOS HIGH:

East Los High is Hulu exclusive programming. It is co-created by Carlos Portugal and Kathleen Bedoya, produced by Prajna Productions, The Alchemists, Into Action Films, and Population Media Center. More than 15 leading public health organizations advised on the scripts and content to address teen issues related to relationships and sexuality in a meaningful way. Season one, launched during the summer of 2013, featured 24 episodes. Season two in summer of 2014 will feature another 12 episodes.