AWARD WINNERS JOE MANTEGNA, JEAN SMART AND CHARLES DURNING STAR IN "A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS," A HOLIDAY MOVIE TO BE BROADCAST SUNDAY, DEC. 5 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Drama Is Based on the Best-Selling Book Say When by Elizabeth Berg

A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS, a lighthearted holiday story starring Tony Award winner Joe Mantegna ("Joan of Arcadia"), two-time Emmy Award winner Jean Smart ("Center of the Universe") and two-time Tony Award winner Charles Durning ("Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"), will be broadcast Sunday, Dec. 5 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. In this drama, a man's orderly life begins to fall apart when he learns shortly before Christmas that his wife is having an affair and wants a divorce.

Frank Griffin (Mantegna), a computer IT consultant, is used to a quiet, uneventful existence with his wife, Ellen (Smart), and their 8-year-old daughter, Zoe (Jordy Benattar). Stunned by Ellen's sudden announcement that she's fallen in love with an auto mechanic, Frank refuses to accept it and remains steadfast in his desire to keep their marriage and family from falling apart.

Hoping it will cheer him up, Frank lets a charismatic volunteer Santa named Ozzie (Durning) sign him up as one of the Santas who pose with children at the local mall. Another reason Frank agrees to the task is so he can spend time with the attractive Santa photographer, Donna (Kari Matchett), a young mother who is also hoping to work things out with her estranged spouse.

It begins to look like only a true Christmas miracle can restore happiness to Frank and Donna's families, which causes Frank to wonder if there's any merit Ozzie's unwavering desire to spread hope for a mystical, magical world with miracles.

Joe Mantegna earned a Tony Award for his performance in David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "Glengarry Glen Ross." His additional Broadway credits include Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" and the musical "Working." Mantegna's feature film credits include "Compromising Positions," "House of Games," "Things Change," "Homicide," "Alice," "Celebrity," "The Godfather III," "Bugsy," "Searching for Bobby Fischer," "Liberty Heights," "Forget Paris," "Suspect," "Up Close and Personal," "The Money Pit," "Weeds," "Baby's Day Out," "Airheads," "Queens Logic," "Wait Until Spring, Bandini," "Uncle Nino" and "An Eye for an Eye." His television credits include the cable films "The Rat Pack," "My Little Assassin," "Boy Meets Girl," "Small Vices," "Thin Air" and "Walking Shadow." On CBS he has starred in the mini-series "The Last Don," its sequel "The Last Don II," and the series "First Monday." His voice can be heard in his recurring role as Fat Tony in "The Simpsons."

Multiple Emmy Award winner Jean Smart is perhaps best known for her role as Charlene in the series "Designing Women," on CBS. Her additional series credits include "Frasier," for which she received two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress, "In Laws," "The Oblongs" and, on the Network, "High Society" and "The District." Among her television movies are "A Change of Heart" and "Audrey's Rain" and on CBS, "The Yearling," "Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story," "Undue Influence" and "A Stranger in Town," and the mini-series "Scarlett." Her feature film credits include "Bringing Down the House," "Sweet Home Alabama," Disney's "The Kid," "Snow Day," "Guinevere," "The Odd Couple II," "Mistress," "The Brady Bunch Movie" and "Garden State." Smart has also appeared on Broadway in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" and "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove."

Charles Durning won a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award as Best Featured Actor in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in 1990. His additional Broadway credits include "The Gin Game," "Inherit the Wind," "That Championship Series" and "Brigadoon." Among his film credits are "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou," "Best Little Whore House in Texas," "To Be or Not to Be," "Tootsie," "The Sting," "Sharkey's Machine," "The Muppet Movie," "The Hudsucker Proxy," "I.Q.," "Home for the Holidays," "Dick Tracy," "When a Stranger Calls" and "The Grass Harp." On CBS Durning starred in the series "Evening Shade" and the movie "Mrs. Santa Claus." He has a recurring role on "Everybody Loves Raymond." His additional television credits include the mini-series "The Kennedys of Massachusetts," for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor, and the CBS movie "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom."

A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS was produced by The Sanitsky Company and co-produced by MindShare Entertainment, a unit of MindShare North America, part of the WPP Group's GroupM media holding company. Larry Sanitsky ("Open House") and Joyce Eliason ("The Last Don") are the executive producers; Peter Tortorici is co-executive producer; Tom McLoughlin ("Without a Trace") directed from a teleplay by Eliason based on the best-selling novel Say When by Elizabeth Berg. A VERY MARRIED CHRISTMAS is sponsored in part by Sears, The Gillette Company, and Novartis.

RATING: To Be Announced