As ABC Family is set to become Freeform next week, the network’s president Tom Ascheim today unveiled its new look, debuting a branding spot created by five illustrators to teen music star Alessia Cara’s upcoming single “Wild Things.” “As all good things should, Freeform starts with a marathon of Pretty Little Lia…

ABC Family and Nicki Minaj have firmed up the cast for scripted comedy Nicki, based on the rap star's life growing up in Queens, NY. Ariana Neal (Get Hard, Fruitvale Station) will star as Nicki, a role inspired by Minaj in her early years before she became a Grammy-nominated, multiplatinum superstar; Selita Ebanks…

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has picked up global rights, excluding the U.S., to Constantin Film’s The Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments. The streaming giant will premiere the title as an original series globally a day after the U.S. broadcast on ABC Family (soon to rebrand as Freeform), with the first episode…

We knew it was happening in January and now we know the date. ABC Family announced today the network will officially be renamed Freeform on Tuesday, January 12, the same day as the season premiere of its No. 1 hit series, Pretty Little Liars, and the world premiere of its new original series, Shadowhunters. The…

ABC Family, which is rebranding as Freeform in January, continues to expand its unscripted slate, giving a green light to The Letter, a relationship-focused reality series from Sirens Media. It’s slated to begin production in 2016. "When your best friends tell you what you 'really need to hear,' it can be very…

Tim Story is finalizing a deal to direct ABC Family’s Nicki Minaj comedy. The project, from Aaron Kaplan's Kapital Entertainment, has a series commitment and will film a pilot episode in New York in the winter. Minaj will executive produce and will appear in the half-hour comedy based on her family's immigration…

ABC Family has ordered a fourth season of The Fosters ahead of the blended-family drama series’ Season 3 winter premiere on January 25, when ABCF will be known as Freeform. "We have so many more stories to tell about The Fosters family," said ABC Family EVP Karey Burke. “These incredible characters have come into…

As ABC Family prepares for the January name change to Freeform, the network has unveiled its winter premiere dates, among them the new series Recovery Road, which bows Monday, January 25. Based on the young-adult novel by Blake Nelson, it follows a teenage girl’s struggle with addiction. After being confronted by…

Georgie Flores (CSI), Perrey Reeves (Entourage), Pepi Sonuga (Life Of A King) and Mark Valley (Human Target) have rounded out the cast of ABC Family drama pilot Famous In Love. The project, based on Rebecca Serle's romantic novel, was written by Serle and I. Marlene King, executive producer/co-showrunner of ABC…

Wanted: A young Nicki Minaj to star in ABC Family’s upcoming comedy series based on the rapper’s life. ABC Family (Freeform beginning in January) is holding online open auditions for a talented girl between the ages of 11-13 to play the younger version of the multiplatinum rapper and ex-American Idol judge. Minaj…

ABC Family, ABC Studios and its cable/digital division ABC Signature have signed an overall deal with McG and his Wonderland Sound & Vision. Under the two-year pact, he will direct and develop drama and comedy series and produce digital content for various platforms. The joint network-studio deal follows two…

UPDATED with rep statement: Production has been scrapped for the week on the ABC Family comedy Baby Daddy after its star was burned in a Halloween party accident. Jean-Luc Bilodeau is recovering in a hospital after being burned on his extremities Saturday during a holiday celebration thrown by his co-star Tahj…