CBS TO USE "THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING'S 61st ANNUAL TONY AWARDS" TO SHOWCASE MULTIPLE PROMOS FOR "VIVA LAUGHLIN," A NEW DRAMA PREMIERING IN THE FALL, EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY TONY AWARD AND EMMY AWARD WINNER HUGH JACKMAN

CBS announced that they will use THE AMERICAN THEATRE WING'S 61st ANNUAL TONY AWARDS� to showcase multiple promos for VIVA LAUGHLIN, a new CBS drama premiering this fall, executive produced by Tony Award and Emmy Award winner Hugh Jackman. Jackman won an Emmy Award for hosting the Tony Awards in 2005 and was nominated again in 2006.

VIVA LAUGHLIN is a mystery drama with music about eternal optimist and freewheeling businessman Ripley Holden, (Lloyd Owen), whose sole ambition is to run a casino in Laughlin, Nev. Occasionally using upbeat contemporary songs to accentuate the drama and humor and advance the story, the series is based on the hit BBC show "Viva Blackpool."

Ten promos for VIVA LAUGHLIN, totaling more than six minutes, will be shown throughout the live three-hour broadcast. The ads will include a two minute and a one minute promo, as well as shorter spots, which will feature music from the songs "Viva Las Vegas," by Elvis Presley, "Sympathy for the Devil," by The Rolling Stones, "One Way or Another," by Blondie, and "Let It Ride," by Bachman Turner Overdrive, all of which is music heard in the pilot episode of the series.

The awards show honoring theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway will be broadcast live from Radio City Music Hall, Sunday, June 10 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. Jackman received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actor in a musical for his portrayal of the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz." His additional theater credits include "Carousel" at Carnegie Hall, "Oklahoma!" at the National Theater in London, "Sunset Boulevard" and "Beauty and the Beast."

Jackman is an executive producer of VIVA LAUGHLIN and has a recurring role as Nicky Fontana, a dashing, sarcastic and wealthy casino owner who is Ripley Holden's arch rival. However, for the outgoing and passionate Ripley, there's no such thing as bad news, only deals to be struck and wagers to be won in the intoxicating neon glow of Laughlin, where the cards are on the table, romance is in the air and music is on the stage. VIVA LAUGHLIN will be broadcast on Sundays (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) beginning in the fall.