ABC Family Pilot ‘Terminales’ Picked Up To Series Titled ‘Chasing Life’

After lengthy deal-making process, ABC Family has given a series order to drama Chasing Life (formerly Terminales) for a launch in early 2014. Chasing Life, which I hear has received a 13-episode pickup, joins new ABC Family drama series The Fosters and Twisted, meaning all three ABC Family pilots from the most recent cycle went to series. (The network passed on its comedy pilots, Phys Ed and Continuing Fred.)

Chasing Life is an adaptation of the successful Televisa Spanish-language Mexican television series. The pilot was produced by Lionsgate in association with Televisa. As part of the series pickup, ABC Family and its in-house production arm BV Family Prods have come on board as co-producers. Kapital Entertainment’s Aaron Kaplan (The Neighbors), who has shepherded the project for the past two years, is executive producing alongside writers Susanna Fogel and Joni Lefkowitz, who joined last year and whose script was greenlighted to pilot. Chasing Life stars Italia Ricci as April, an ambitious young newspaper reporter who tries to balance her career aspirations with her family — her widowed mom Sara (Mary Page Keller), rebellious little sister Brenna (Haley Ramm), and her grandmother. Just as things start to look up at work, home and on the romance front with co-worker Dominic (Richard Brancatisano), April gets the devastating news from an estranged uncle that she has cancer.

This marks the third cable series for Kaplan, who also executive produces Wendell & Vinnie and the upcoming Instant Mom for Nick at Nite. He also has pilot HR at Lifetime as well as five broadcast pilots currently in contention.

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