Oxygen channel announces 'Coolio & The Gang' reality series to air 2008

(October 30, 2007) The 90’s rap superstar Coolio will star in the upcoming Oxygen original series “Coolio & The Gang,” following the trials and tribulations of the rap mogul as he tries to raise six teenage kids while juggling his rap career and entrepreneurial aspirations.

Six 30-minute episodes will air in the second quarter of 2008. The series will be produced by Oxygen and RDF USA (Wife Swap, Don’t Forget the Lyrics).The series will be managed by Aaron Meyerson, SVP of Development & Production, and Kristin Connolly Vadas, VP of Development at Oxygen.

Coolio shot to superstardom in 1995 as a rap star with three platinum albums and six top-ten hits, including “Gansta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage.”  Since then, he’s hunkered down and become a family man, raising his six children as a single dad. With the rapper’s unconventional methods of discipline, Coolio sets out to balance his family life with his rap career and launching his own clothing line, and finds that he’s got his work cut out for him. Nobody said parenting was easy – especially when you’re a rap star going through a mid-life crisis.

“This show is a perfect balance between family life and comedy,” said Debby Beece, President of Programming & Marketing at Oxygen. “Juggling a career and home life as a single parent really resonates with our audience. Throw in a little bit of comedy and a twist on parenting, and Oxygen has another one of our signature over-the-top, bold personalities.”

“Coolio’s unconventional methods of discipline are guaranteed to entertain,” said Chris Coelen, CEO of RDF USA.

"In Coolio we have a fascinating reality character – an unfiltered opinion, a unique point of view, and a personality that explodes off the screen,” said Greg Goldman, Executive Vice President of Development for RDF USA. “We cannot wait to get the cameras rolling.”

Oxygen is currently available in over 74 million homes.  The network was launched in 2000 to fill a void in the television landscape -- creating a network targeted to younger women.  Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women's television, with a vast array of unconventional and original programming including The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, The Bad Girls Club, and Tori & Dean: Inn Love.

Geraldine Laybourne, the network's founder, Chairman and CEO, has led the company to be a strong advocate for women.  Through programs like The Mentor's Walk, Oxygen's national program for bringing along the next generation, and "Who Cares About Girls," Oxygen's new documentary series -- Oxygen is creating The New Girls Network.

With offices in both Los Angeles and New York, RDF is one of the largest and fastest-growing production companies in the world.  RDF USA is led by Chris Coelen, CEO, a former partner at United Talent Agency who ran the international and alternative television packaging divisions.   Since its launch, RDF has sold and/or produced series such as Don’t Forget the Lyrics (Fox), Wife Swap (ABC), Shaq’s Big Challenge (ABC), How to Look Good Naked (Lifetime), The Two Coreys (A&E) and Ice-T’s Rap School (VH-1).  www.RDFUSA.com


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