LOS ANGELES, Nov. 2 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Trinity Broadcasting Network's (TBN) faith-based programming is a favorite with American audiences and millions of viewers across six continents. This month, TBN's Smile of a Child children's TV network began airing the much acclaimed Gemini award-winning
Pit Pony TV series, starring the quirky young Academy award-nominated actress Ellen Philpotts-Page.
Set in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, the Canadian produced series centers around the trials and tribulations of the MacLean family, and the men and boys who struggle with the difficult work of mining coal. This grueling, twentieth-century labor made use of ponies living down in the mines to haul away tons of extracted coal. Happily for pit worker Willie MacLean, a ten-year-old boy with a fierce love of horses and a desire to escape the difficult times his family must endure, he copes by making friends with one of the pit's ponies.
"Pit Pony is fascinating to children because of the relationship Maggie (played by Ellen Philpotts-Page) MacLean's brother develops with one of the pit ponies," says Brenda Rossman, programming director for Smile of a Child TV network. "Strong bonds and family dynamics make the series appealing to kids and adults alike."
Philpotts-Page is a popular, respected, discriminating young star known for her fanciful roles in films such as Whip It (2009), X-Men 3 (2006), and Marion Bridge (2002). The fourth youngest actress to receive a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, Philpotts-Page frequently plays the roles of girls much younger than her twenty-two years.
Pit Pony the series airs weekly, Fridays at 6:30 PM Pacific, on Smile of a Child. Pit Pony the movie, which also stars Philpotts-Page in her very first movie or television role, is airing periodically as a special feature on both TBN and Smile of a Child TV.
"Offering faith-based and wholesome programming to families across the globe is one of the ways Smile of a Child strives to get children off to a good start in life," says Rossman. "Programming like this is what the Smile of a Child TV is all about."
Smile of a Child children's TV network offers unique, quality Christian programming twenty-four hours a day, and is dedicated to helping children develop positive social and spiritual skills through constructive television. For more information on Smile of a Child TV, log on to
www.smileofachildtv.org.
TBN is the world's largest religious network and America's most watched faith channel. Each day TBN offers 24 hours of commercial-free inspirational programming that appeals to people in a wide variety of denominations. TBN now reaches every major continent via 54 satellites and more than 12,000 television and cable affiliates worldwide. In the United States, TBN is available to 92 percent of the total households. Its website receives more than 27 million visitors monthly. In addition to TBN, the network owns and operates seven networks, including: The Church Channel, JCTV youth network, TBN Enlace USA Spanish network, and Smile of a Child TV children's network. For more information on TBN, visit www.tbn.org.
