NEW SERIES PREVIEW

JOHN STAMOS RETURNS TO TELEVISION IN A FAST-PACED NEW COMEDY ABOUT A NEW YORK PUBLICIST, ON ABC'S "JAKE IN PROGRESS"

John Stamos returns to television in a fast-paced new comedy series about a smooth-as-silk celebrity publicist who tries to spin his professional and his personal life in the best possible light, but doesn't quite always succeed, in "Jake in Progress," airing in a special preview SUNDAY, MARCH 13 (9:00-9:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. The series also stars Ian Gomez ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding," "The Drew Carey Show"), Rick Hoffman ("Philly"), Wendie Malick ("Just Shoot Me") and, in a recurring role, Julie Bowen ("Ed").

Editors please note: Another episode, "Stand By Your Man," follows at 9:30 p.m., ET. The series will premiere in its regular time period THURSDAY, MARCH 17 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET).

Life moves at a non-stop pace for Jake Phillips, a New-York based publicist-to-the-stars who's the key player at Magnum PR Agency, run by his overbearing boss, Naomi (Wendie Malick) -- a woman whose disposition isn't improved by the fact that she's a soon-to-be single mom in the final weeks of pregnancy. Handsome and incredibly well-dressed, Jake is on call 24/7 to meet the needs of his A-list clientele - whether it's a macho action star caught in an embarrassing clinch, an older actress trying to dump her much-younger (and even more famous) boyfriend, or two warring teen divas - he's there to spin the facts and control his client's image, a task that often leads him into unexpectedly funny situations.

But the drama in Jake's professional life has nothing on his personal life, as he strives to find the perfect girl to commit to, once and for all. A one-time player, he's determined to find "the one" woman to settle down with. But that's a little difficult for a guy who's so hard to pin down he can't even commit to a home - he lives out of a hotel. He came close to commitment once, but when his fiancie dumped him flat, it left Jake a little vulnerable.

In the series preview, "Pilot," Jake agrees to a date with Naomi's sister, Kylie (guest star Madchen Amick), but things don't go as planned when he realizes they've met before, a fact that Kylie remembers in great detail but which Jake can't for the life of him even recall. The date gets even stranger when Kylie's ex-boyfriend, Patrick (Rick Hoffman), a performance artist in the style of David Blaine, drops in - literally. Meanwhile, Jake's best pal, mild-mannered dentist Adrian (Ian Gomez), gets inadvertently stuck babysitting one of Jake's star clients, Shane (guest star Evan Parke), a macho action star with more than a few issues.

"Jake in Progress" stars John Stamos as Jake, Ian Gomez as Adrian, Rick Hoffman as Patrick and Wendie Malick as Naomi.

Guest starring are Madchen Amick as Kylie and Evan Parke as Shane.

"Pilot" was written be Austin Winsberg and directed by Michael Spiller.

The series is executive-produced by Brad Grey ("The Sopranos," "The Larry Sanders Show"), Peter Traugott, and Jeffrey Richman ("Frasier"). Tim Doyle ("Roseanne," "Andy Richter Controls the Universe") served as executive producer on the pilot. Austin Winsberg ("Still Standing") is creator and executive producer. The series is from Brad Grey Television Productions in association with Twentieth Century Fox Television.

"Jake in Progress" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.

This program carries a TV-PG,D,L parental guideline.