ABC Family renews series, adds four more

ABC Family has picked up its original series "Wildfire" for a third season, with new episodes set to begin filming this summer.

And to tide viewers over until that show's return, the cable network has taken a big leap forward with its original production, greenlighting four new shows that will debut between June and August.

"Our summer programming lineup focuses on storytelling," ABC Family President Paul Lee says. "We just finished our 11th consecutive quarter of growth, so we've got a great platform to launch the summer, and we're continuing our commitment to producing dramas of the highest quality."

The parade of new shows will begin June 5 with "Falcon Beach," which is set in a New England beach town and follows the sometimes-tense interaction between its permanent residents and vacationers. "Kyle XY" will follow three weeks later. It's about a teenager (Matt Dallas) who reacts to the world the way a newborn might -- but also has a brilliant mind. Intrigued, a psychologist takes him home to live with her family.

The other two shows, "Three Moons Over Milford" and "Fallen," also have supernatural overtones. "Moons," which debuts in July stars Elizabeth McGovern ("The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.") as a woman trying to keep her family together. It's not so easy, because Earth is threatened with destruction and people have taken to doing pretty much whatever they want.

"Fallen" stars Paul Wesley ("American Dreams," "Everwood") as an adopted teenager who's searching for his biological family. As he turns 18, though, he starts to experience some extraordinary things -- animals talking to him, for instance -- and realizes there might be more to his history than he thought. The six-hour limited series is scheduled for an August premiere.

As for "Wildfire," which finished its second season this week, the show will begin its third season with Kris (Genevieve Cortese) dealing with a measure of fame after riding the titular horse. The series averaged about 1.5 million viewers this season, an improvement of almost 50 percent over its first.