Lifetime Television Kicks Off Fall Schedule With Academy Award(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award-Winning Actress Kim Basinger Starring in 'The Mermaid Chair,' Saturday, September 9 at 9PM (ET/PT)
Network Rolls Out Next Generation of Programming With Primetime Novela
'Bianca' (wt) Starring Rachel Ward, and Two New Reality Series 'Off The
Leash' And "The Lisa Williams Project" (wt)
Sarah Chalke ('Scrubs') Headlines in 'Why I Wore Lipstick To My Mastectomy'
During Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October
On Sister Network LMN, Danica Mckellar ('The Wonder Years') Stars in
Original Movie 'Inspector Mom' Accompanied by Broadband Episodes on LMN.TV
NEW YORK, Aug. 8 -- Lifetime Television launches its fall
season with a powerful Lifetime Original Movie event starring Academy
Award(R) and Golden Globe(R) Award-winning actress Kim Basinger ("L.A.
Confidential," "The Door in the Floor") as a restless wife and mother
consumed with forbidden love for a Benedictine monk and the crisis and
self-awakening it ignites within her in an adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's
explosive best seller, The Mermaid Chair. The movie airs during a special
three-night premiere beginning Saturday, September 9 at 9PM, followed by
encore presentations on Sunday, September 10 at 8PM and Monday, September
11 at 9PM. All times are ET/PT.
Lifetime's fall season kicks into high gear in October with its newest
reality series, "Off the Leash," which goes inside the tumultuous world of
a real-life Hollywood pet talent agency to reveal just how far some women
will go to find four-legged stardom for their beloved dogs. Later that
month, the network unveils "Bianca" (wt) starring Virginia Williams ("As
the World Turns"), Rachel Ward ("The Thorn Birds") and Academy
Award(R)-winning actress Shirley Jones ("The Music Man") in a 20-episode
primetime novela series from FremantleMedia North America about a young
woman who has to start over in life after being wrongly imprisoned for
murder.
Also in October Lifetime presents "The Lisa Williams Project" (wt),
featuring the multi-talented English clairvoyant Lisa Williams bringing
messages from deceased loved ones in spontaneous, heartwarming encounters
with everyday Americans.
During October's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sarah Chalke
("Scrubs") and Jay Harrington ("Desperate Housewives") headline in the
Lifetime Original Movie "Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy," based on
the delightfully feisty memoir of the same name by Geralyn Lucas, a breast
cancer survivor and Lifetime's Director of Corporate Communications who
works on the network's award-winning breast cancer awareness campaign.
Also that month, LMN, cable television's second most watched women's
network, premieres the original movie "Inspector Mom," starring Danica
McKellar ("The Wonder Years") as a young stay-at-home mom on the go who
happens to stumble across murders and mysteries in the heart of suburbia.
Maddie has an extraordinary talent for detecting and solving crimes, a
veritable modern day suburban sleuth with a magnifying glass in one hand
and a diaper bag in the other.
"The Mermaid Chair"
Basinger plays Jessie Sullivan who, after her daughter leaves for
college, finds herself restless in her life and 20-year marriage. When
Jessie's mother commits an inexplicable act of self-mutilation, Jessie is
forced to return to her childhood home on Egret Island, a tiny barrier
island off the coast of South Carolina. Her homecoming reignites the
volatile relationship Jessie has with her mother and reawakens nagging
questions about her father's death years earlier. Soon, she meets Brother
Thomas (Alex Carter), a Benedictine monk from the neighboring abbey with
whom she shares an immediate and powerful connection. As the relationship
unfolds, Jessie unlocks the roots of her mother's tormented past and the
secrets around her father's death while undergoing a spiritual, artistic
and erotic awakening.
"The Mermaid Chair" is co-produced by Randwell Distribution and Nomadic
Pictures for Lifetime Television. Randy Robinson (Lifetime's "The Pact" and
"Lies My Mother Told Me") is the executive producer. Emmy(R) Award winner
Steven Schachter ("Door to Door," "The Wool Cap") is the director. The
teleplay is by Suzette Couture.
"Off the Leash"
Starring performing pooches, quirky pet owners and cutthroat animal
agents, the half-hour series from executive producers Kevin Dill and
Mechelle Collins (Bravo's "Blow Out," MTV's "Juvies") exposes the inner
workings of the star-maker machinery along with the excesses, intrigues and
just doggone escapades of ambitious pet owners driven to unleash their
inner animal.
"Off the Leash" is produced by Intuitive Entertainment for Lifetime
Television. Dill and Collins serve as executive producers.
"Bianca" (wt)
Virginia Williams ("One Life to Live") stars as Bianca, a young woman
who spent the last six years of her life wrongly imprisoned for the murder
of her father. She returns home to find the family business folded, her
sister Kathy (Samantha Shelton - "Gilmore Girls") squandering her
inheritance, younger brother Ben (Matt Funke - "Dawson's Creek") dealing
drugs and her grandmother Grace (Shirley Jones - "The Partridge Family")
suffering from cancer. As Bianca attempts to regain her life, she meets and
shares an undeniable connection with Jake Preston (Kieren Hutchinson -
"Wildfire"), the wealthy heir to The Monarch Preston Resort who also
happens to be engaged. The novela also stars Simon Rex ("What I Like About
You"), Stephen Martines ("General Hospital"), Vanessa Lengies ("American
Dreams") and Rachel Ward ("The Thorn Birds").
Based on the popular German telenovela, "Bianca" (wt) is produced by
FremantleMedia North America ("American Idol") for Lifetime. Mike Murphy
and Steve Tao serve as executive producers.
"The Lisa Williams Project" (wt)
Shot around southern California, each episode of "The Lisa Williams
Project" (wt) follows Lisa interacting with ordinary Americans as they go
about their daily lives, whether in their homes, at work and play. In these
impromptu meetings, Lisa relays messages from the dead to their astonished
relatives and friends.
"The Lisa Williams Project" (wt) is produced by Merv Griffin
Entertainment and Kimo Jagger Productions for Lifetime Television.
Executive Producers are Merv Griffin ("Wheel of Fortune," "Jeopardy!"),
Andrew Yani ("Second Verdict"), Raymond J. Brune ("Good Morning America,"
"E! News Live") and Bruce Toms ("Nanny 911," "Paradise Hotel").
"Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy"
The gutsy, touching and often irreverent drama pulls away the hospital
curtain to tell the story of a 27-year-old woman diagnosed with breast
cancer whose long-lasting matte red lipstick she applies before her
mastectomy surgery becomes a metaphor for her to become the confident and
sexy woman she always wanted to be. The movie includes a special cameo
appearance by superstar Patti LaBelle as a fellow cancer patient.
Before turning 30 years-old, Geralyn (Chalke) has finished journalism
school, landed her dream job at a network television news magazine and
married a handsome young doctor (Harrington). Practically overnight,
however, she must transform from "it" girl to cancer patient, when she
receives her shocking diagnosis. Her unconventional journey to survivorship
includes a visit to a strip club to ponder what it will mean to have a
mastectomy and arduous medical treatments, while managing the fear and
expectations of her husband, family, friends and colleagues, who
desperately want to support her, but do not always know how.
"Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy" is produced by Grossbart Kent
for Lifetime Television. Jack Grossbart and Linda Kent ("Any Mother's Son,"
"Unforgivable") are the executive producers. Peter Werner (Lifetime's
"Gracie's Choice" and "We Were the Mulvaneys") directs. The teleplay is by
Nancey Silvers (Lifetime's "Mom at Sixteen," "Revenge of the Middle-Aged
Woman").
"Inspector Mom"
Once the first original movie installment of "Inspector Mom" premieres
on- air on LMN in October, a new mystery starts on LMN.tv. The online
webisodes unfold in eight, seven-and-a-half minute segments from November
through March 2007 when a new "Inspector Mom" movie premieres on LMN. The
online web site for the series includes special features such as an
interactive mystery that allows people to explore the main character's
neighborhood to find additional clues to help solve the mystery.
"Inspector Mom" is a production of Inspector Mom LLC. Brad Keller is
executive producer and director.
LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated
basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME
is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information
programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and
their families. LIFETIME Television, LMN, Lifetime Real Women, Lifetime
Home Entertainment, and Lifetime Online are part of LIFETIME Entertainment
Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and The Walt
Disney Company.
SOURCE Lifetime Television
http://www.lifetimetv.com
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