Jenny McCarthy joins 'Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest'

Comedian, actress, activist and author of the New York Times Bestseller, "Love, Lust and Faking It," Jenny McCarthy will join the New Year's celebration on "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" on Friday, Dec. 31, beginning at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. McCarthy will be sharing reporting duties live from Times Square with Ryan Seacrest, while Dick Clark will be counting down from inside ABC studios.

"Jenny is a great addition to this year's show. She is funny, relatable and high energy, and she will be great with our New Year's crowd, Ryan and Dick," said Larry Klein, producer of the specials.

The bi-coastal celebration will include three-and-a-half hours of special performances and reports on New Year's celebrations from around the globe, as well as the American tradition of Dick Clark counting down to midnight from Times Square in New York City.

Seacrest added: "I was reminded how great Jenny is at live broadcasting when she recently stopped by my radio show. That day, with Dick's blessing, I invited her to join us in Times Square!"

The festivities will kick off with "Dick Clark's Primetime New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011" from10 until 11 p.m., ET, featuring performances live from New York's Times Square and performances from Los Angeles.

During "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 1" (11:30 p.m.-1:08 a.m., ET), in addition to reporting on the final minutes of 2010 and the traditional Times Square countdown to midnight, the show will feature music performances from both Los Angeles and Times Square in New York.

Wrapping the night's activities will be "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2011, Part 2" (1:08-2:11 a.m., ET), when musical acts will continue the party into the early hours of the New Year with additional performances from Los Angeles.

The specials are presentations of dick clark productions, inc. with Dick Clark, Ryan Seacrest and Orly Adelson serving as executive producers. Larry Klein produces.

About Jenny McCarthy

Jenny McCarthy's honesty, humility and humor have enabled her to transcend the boundaries of her roles as comedian, actress, host, best-selling author and influential activist in the world of healing and preventing autism. When she first made her own experience with her son Evan's diagnosis and subsequent recovery from autism, her unique ability to articulate the unspoken words of thousands of mothers and fathers across the world was recognized immediately, and she is now fielding hundreds of requests per week for interviews, speaking engagements and public appearances nationwide.

A highly-regarded NY Times best-selling author, McCarthy's books include the bestsellers "Belly Laughs, Baby Laughs, Life Laughs," "Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism" and "Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds." "Healing and Preventing Autism," co-written with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, was published in April 2009. Her new book, "Love, Lust and Faking It: The Naked Truth About Sex, Lies and True Romance," hit stores in September, also landing on the NY Times Bestseller List.