‘Secret Lives Of Americans’ Season Two Premieres May 20 On Pivot

LOS ANGELES (April 12, 2016) – Participant Media today announced that the second season of the groundbreaking docu-series “Secret Lives of Americans” will premiere on Friday, May 20 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Pivot. The all-new episodes take an unflinching look at the reasons why ordinary Americans go to great lengths to disguise their closest kept secrets. The 20-episode season is the largest order for any original series in Pivot’s history. The series also explores how revealing one’s unfiltered self to friends and family can create new opportunities to start over.

“’Secret Lives of Americans’ is a captivating, innovative docu-series that explores what secrets people choose to hide and why they choose to hide them,” said Belisa Balaban, EVP, Original Programming, Pivot. “We are excited to bring twenty new episodes that put a personal face on issues like religious tolerance, literacy and immigration.”

This season, “Secret Lives of Americans” explores many high-stakes issues in the U.S. that push many to secrecy and isolation, including bankruptcy, veterans’ issues and addiction. As their journeys unfold, these twenty courageous Americans will tell their stories within the context of a greater social issue. A Muslim woman, who has been hiding her religion and culture from the world since September 11, 2001, reflects upon current affairs in our nation. A mother, who secretly never learned how to read, reminds viewers that illiteracy is still an issue to be remedied even in 2016.

Each subject will self-document their journey – with handheld cameras, phones, and laptops – as they reveal their secret for the first time to their friends, family, and to the viewer at home.

In keeping with Participant Media’s mission to inspire and compel social change, Pivot is offering tools and resources to further the conversation around some of the topics explored in the series, ranging from literacy to religious tolerance. Working with organizations such as ProLiteracy and the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Pivot will help to raise awareness around how viewers are impacted by these issues in their own communities and encourage them to get involved.

Episode Descriptions*:

Premiere Episode (May 20) 10:00pm ET/PT: Amy, Religious Tolerance

Amy, a young woman from Washington, D.C., has been living a double life for the past 15 years. It’s now time for her to overcome her fear and share her true identity with friends. Amy’s secret is that her real name is Elhan and that she is a Muslim.

Episode Two (May 27) 10:00pm ET/PT: Cleo, Literacy

Cleo, a truck driver and busy mom, has been hiding a secret from her family for decades. No longer ashamed, she is ready to reveal the truth to her family so that they can move forward together. Cleo’s secret is that she never learned to read.

*Descriptions for later episodes to follow

“Secret Lives of Americans” is executive produced by Greg Lipstone, Markus Schafer, Leah Hariton, and Danny Villa for MME/Filmpool USA and All3Media America. John Henshaw also serves as executive producer. Jeff Skoll, Christy Spitzer Thornton, and Lyle Gamm serve as executive producers for Pivot.

About Participant Media
Participant Media (http://www.participantmedia.com/) is a leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires and compels social change. Founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll, Participant combines the power of a good story well told with opportunities for viewers to get involved. Participant’s more than 70 films, including Spotlight, Contagion, Lincoln, The Help, He Named Me Malala, The Look of Silence, CITIZENFOUR, Food, Inc., and An Inconvenient Truth, have collectively earned 50 Academy Award® nominations and 11 wins, including Best Picture for Spotlight. Participant has also launched more than a dozen original series, including “Please Like Me,” Emmy® Award-winning “Hit Record On TV with Joseph Gordon-Levitt,” and “Fortitude,” for its television network, Pivot (http://www.pivot.tv/). Participant’s digital hub, TakePart (http://www.TakePart.com), serves millions of socially conscious consumers each month with daily articles, videos and opportunities to take action. Follow Participant Media on Twitter at @Participant and on Facebook.

About MME/Filmpool USA and ALL3Media America
MME/Filmpool USA is the North American arm of the German based scripted and non-scripted content powerhouse MME/Filmpool. Led by Executive Vice President Danny Villa, MME/Filmpool USA creates and produces series in collaboration with All3Media America. The company is based in Los Angeles.

All3Media America is the Los Angeles-based production studio for All3Media, a global production and distribution group of companies headquartered in the UK. Established in December 2012, All3Media America develops and produces a wide range of original scripted, non-scripted and digital content specifically for the US market as well as serving as the domestic production base for the group’s international formats. All3Media America companies include Bentley, Bogner Content, Commonwealth Unscripted, Company Pictures, ID-TV, Lime, Maverick, MME, North One, Objective, Seven Stories, South Pacific Pictures and Studio Lambert Associates. The company currently has series in production or development with a large number of broadcast and cable networks as well as digital platforms, including the Emmy award-winning Undercover Boss for CBS. All3Media America’s formats and finished programs are distributed internationally by All3Media International. All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.