ABC FAMILY'S HIT SERIES "THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER" RETURNS ON MONDAY, JANUARY 4

Ben's Italian Girlfriend Pays a Visit, George Struggles with Fatherhood and Ricky Takes a Stand with Amy Regarding Their Son

Burbank, CA (December 15, 2009) � ABC Family's hit drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" returns Monday, January 4th (8:00-9:00PM ET/PT) to complete its second season with 12 all-new episodes.

In the premiere episode, "You Don't Know What You've Got..." Amy and Anne decide to take their babies and escape their problems by going on vacation -- and things back at home start to fall apart in their absence. George struggles to come to terms with the fact that Robie might not be his son. Ben's Italian girlfriend pays him a visit and he�s sick thinking about Amy's reaction -- he can't decide if he wants to be with Amy or if he wants to be a normal teenager and date other girls. Grace and Jack hash out their relationship problems and Grace reveals that she kissed Jason, but only after Jack confesses to kissing Madison. Ashley begins to feel suffocated by Griffin's friendship and Ricky realizes he has to take charge and demand that Amy return home with their son.

ABC Family's No. 1 original series ever, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" *ranked as 3Q09's No. 1 cable series in Viewers 12-34 and Females 12-34, and the No. 1 scripted cable series in Women 18-34. In Teens and Female Teens, "Secret Life" was TV's No. 1 series in 3Q09.

The heartfelt drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" focuses on the relationships between families and friends and how they deal with teenage issues, including an unexpected pregnancy. Created and executive-produced by Brenda Hampton, the series stars Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Mark Derwin, India Eisley, Ken Baumann, Daren Kagasoff, Francia Raisa, Megan Park and Greg Finley.

Part of the Disney-ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 98 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today's relationships, all told with diversity, dysfunction, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a mix of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas!" ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

*Source: Nielsen Media Research (National Ratings, 3Q09: 6/29/09-9/27/09, Most Current: Live + SD, blended with Live + 7, when available).