‘Jane by Design’ to Premiere January 3 on ABC Family

Jane Quimby is a fresh-faced fashionista juggling life both as a regular high school student and as an assistant to a high-powered fashion executive — all while trying to keep her true identity a secret — in the series premiere of ABC Family’s new original series “Jane By Design” on Tuesday, January 3rd (9:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT). The one-hour original drama stars newcomer Erica Dasher, David Clayton Rogers (“Cougar Town”), Nicholas Roux (“Lemonade Mouth”), Rowly Dennis (“Desperate Housewives”), India De Beaufort (“One Tree Hill”), Meagan Tandy (“10 Things I Hate About You”), Matthew Atkinson (“CSI”) and featuring Andie MacDowell (“Footloose,” “Four Weddings and a Funeral”).

“Jane By Design” follows Jane Quimby (Dasher), a quirky teen with an eclectic chic fashion sense, who lands a job at a hip fashion house when they mistake her for an adult. Torn between her love of fashion and the need to finish high school, Jane conceals her true age to assist the demanding, but talented Gray Chandler Murray (MacDowell), who travels the world in search of the next big style trend. Jane quickly learns that working for a successful executive in the cutthroat world of fashion brings on adversaries like India Jourdain (De Beaufort), an associate designer and Gray’s former assistant, who is now gunning for Gray’s job. Fortunately, Jane has the charming and handsome senior designer Jeremy Jones (Dennis) on her side — and peaking her interest — although she still harbors feelings for long-time crush, Nick Fadden (Atkinson), at school.

Jane’s best friend, Billy Nutter (Roux), helps Jane keep up appearances as she toggles between two lives and loyally guards her secret from her older brother, Ben (Rogers). However, Billy has a secret of his own, hiding a relationship with Jane’s high school nemesis, Lulu Pope (Tandy). Even with Billy’s support, will Jane’s ruse be a passing fad, or will she be able to fashion a career in the design business?

The series is executive produced by Gavin Polone (“Gilmore Girls,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), April Blair (“Lemonade Mouth,” “Monte Carlo”) and John Ziffren (“Melissa & Joey,” “Make It or Break It”).

ABC Family Dates ‘Jane by Design,’ Return of Other Popular Dramas

ABC Family will ring in the New Year with the world premiere of a new one hour drama, “Jane By Design,” and with all-new episodes of returning original hit series “Switched at Birth,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “The Lying Game,” all set to premiere the first week of January 2012.

The girls are ready to kick some “A” in all-new episodes of ABC Family’s hit original series “Pretty Little Liars,” returning on a new night, Monday, January 2, 8:00PM–9:00PM ET/PT. No longer just wanting to sit by and wait for “A’s” latest cruel attack, Aria, Emily, Hanna and Spencer take matters into their own hands and try to finally put a stop to their tormentor. As relationships are put to the test, new and old secrets are revealed and the stakes are raised higher than ever before as the Liars come closer to the truth – will all of their sacrifices be worth it in the end? “Pretty Little Liars” won three Teen Choice Awards in 2011 for Choice Summer TV Series, Choice Summer TV Actress – Lucy Hale and Choice Summer TV Actor – Ian Harding. The show also won the “TV You Betta Watch” Award for 2011’s NewNowNext Awards as well as the “Cast to Watch” for 2011’s The Young Hollywood Awards.

“The Lying Game” will return with all-new episodes on Monday, January 2, 9:00PM– 10:00PM ET/PT. It’s a season of secrets, seduction, and life-and-death stakes, as our twins continue to expose the skeletons in their family closet. Emma and Ethan’s love is stronger than ever, but their relationship is tested by questionable motives and accusations. When Sutton disappears after the big blow-up in the cabin, and the police find the stolen Mercer car at the bottom of the lake, Emma and Ethan don’t know whether Sutton is missing or dead. Thayer keeps their secret…for now…but has his own motive for wanting to tear them apart. Meanwhile, Char’s aunt Annie has returned to town after many years, bringing back old memories and secrets that Alec and Ted would like to keep in the past. Charisma Carpenter has been added to the cast as a recurring guest star as Char’s aunt (role of Rebecca Sewell).

ABC Family’s big summer hit, “Switched at Birth,” returns with all-new episodes on a new day and time, Tuesday, January 3, 8:00PM–9:00PM ET/PT. This season, the families must deal with the arrival of Bay’s biological father Angelo (Gilles Marini), inflaming old passions and creating new rivalries. All in all, everyone struggles to navigate family dynamics that seem to be getting more, not less, complicated. The series uses American Sign Language and explores deaf culture with an array of deaf and hard of hearing actors. The series was named the recipient of AFTRA’s (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) 2011 American Scene “Crystal” Award®” — the top individual television program honoree in this year’s competition — “for its groundbreaking and seamless inclusion of performers with disabilities, storylines that showcase new assistive technologies, and ethnic diversity.” Most recently, Executive Producer Paul Stupin was awarded the 2011 Producers Guild of America George Sunga Award by the Media Access Awards. Academy Award winner Marlee Matlin, Gilles Marini and Austin Butler are recurring guest stars.

“Jane By Design” will make its world premiere on Tuesday, January 3, 9:00PM– 10:00PM ET/PT. “Jane By Design” follows Jane Quimby (Erica Dasher), a quirky teen with an eclectic chic fashion sense, who lands a job at a hip fashion house when they mistake her for an adult. Torn between her love of fashion and the need to finish high school, Jane conceals her true age to assist the demanding, but talented Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell), who travels the world in search of the next big style trend. Jane quickly learns that working for a successful executive in the cutthroat world of fashion is not as glamorous as she once thought. But with help from her best friend Billy Nutter (Nicholas Roux), Jane tries to keep up appearances as she toggles between two lives and guard her secret. Even with Billy’s support, will Jane’s ruse be a passing fad, or will she be able to fashion a career in the design business?

“Switched at Birth” launched as the network’s No. 1 original series debut in the network’s history in target demos, including Total Viewers, Adults 18-34, Women 18-34, Adults 18-49 and Women 18-49, and ranked as the top-rated new series across all basic cable during Summer 2011 across its core female demographics (18-34, 18-49 and 12-34). Critical darling and cult-favorite “Pretty Little Lairs” ranked as the No. 1 scripted basic cable series in Women 18-34 and Females 12-34 during Summer 2011, while “The Lying Game” was the No. 1 scripted cable show in its time period during its season 1A in the key female demos.

Also, fan favorites “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” and “Make It or Break It” will both return with all-new original episodes in early Spring 2012.

ABC Family Announces New Drama, ‘Jane By Design’ Starring Andie McDowell

Building on its most expansive programming slate ever, ABC Family has picked up an additional one-hour scripted drama, “Jane By Design.” The drama is in addition to the network’s four previously announced series pick-ups set to launch this summer, the one-hour dramas “The Nine Lives of Chloe King,” “Switched at Birth” and “The Lying Game,” and the half-hour multi-cam comedy series, “State of Georgia” (formerly “The Great State of Georgia”). “Jane By Design” is set to premiere in early 2012.

“Jane By Design” (formerly “What Would Jane Do”), a light-hearted drama, follows Jane, a teenager who lands a job at a hip retail company when they mistake her for an adult. Jane soon finds herself juggling life both as a regular high school student and as an assistant to a high powered executive in the cutthroat world of fashion… all while trying to keep her true identity a secret. “Jane By Design” stars Erica Dasher (“The Lake”) as Jane Quimby, Nicholas Roux (“Lemonade Mouth”) as Billy Nutter, Rowly Dennis (“Desperate Housewives”) as Jeremy Jones, India De Beaufort (“One Tree Hill”) as India Jordain, Meagan Tandy (“10 Things I Hate About You”) as Lulu Pope, Matthew Atkinson (“CSI”) as Nick Fadden, and featuring Andie MacDowell (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”) as Gray Chandler Murray – Jane’s steely boss whose constant demands keep her on her toes. The series will be executive-produced by Gavin Polone (“Gilmore Girls,” “Zombieland,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “My Boys”), John Ziffren (“Melissa & Joey,” “Make It or Break It”) and April Blair (“Lemonade Mouth,” “Monte Carlo”).

“Switched at Birth” will premiere on Monday, June 6 at 9:00PM ET/PT; “The Nine Lives of Chloe King” will premiere on Tuesday, June 14 at 9:00PM ET/PT; the half-hour multi-cam comedy “State of Georgia” will premiere on Wednesday, June 29 at 8:30PM ET/PT; and “The Lying Game” will premiere on Monday, August 15 at 9:00PM ET/PT.