On Day 8 of the 16-day biannual Television Critic’s Association Summer 2014 Press Tour, ABC and ABC Family introduced their new programming, and the following is a snapshot-look at a few of their new series.
ABC FAMILY
“Chasing Life” is a remarkable new TV series that debuted in June on ABC Family Channel about a young woman who finds out she has cancer. What should be a tough subject to bring levity to, “Chasing Life” found a unique and charming way to introduce us to the life of April Carver, fantastically portrayed by Italia Ricci. The show starts out with the very day April’s life starts to take off with a cool job opportunity and meeting a dashing young man, she finds out she has leukemia. The show has embraced April’s struggle to keep everything she has worked so hard to attain and to still pursue her dreams, while depicting the trials of dealing with cancer too. The show features a strong heart-warming family at the center and April’s family has their own hilarious and heart-tugging storylines as well. They emphasize that, just because someone has cancer, it does not mean that life stops for everyone. So “Chasing Life” reveals how this amazing family comes together and still tackles their own daily challenges. Confession: From the first episode this show captured my heart. I fell head over heels for it and am so grateful that this show was given a chance to bring its wonderful story and incredible characters to my television screen. Point of interest: Italia Ricci co-starred with Jordan Gavaris (“Orphan Black”) in the Cartoon Network series “Unnatural History.” It was another family-friendly show that I loved whole-heartedly and miss to this day. (“Chasing Life” premiered in June and continues to air new episodes on Tuesday nights at 9:00 p.m. on ABC Family Channel.) [Read more…]