Lifetime Television Announces Production of the Lifetime Original Movie 'Custody' (Working Title), Starring Rob Morrow ('Numb3rs'), James Denton ('Desperate Housewives') and Kay Panabaker (Warner Bros. 'Nancy Drew')

LOS ANGELES, June 21 -- Lifetime Television has greenlit the Lifetime Original Movie "Custody" (working title), the poignant story of a widowed college professor who risks losing custody of his 13-year-old stepdaughter. Though he has raised her as his own, her biological father suddenly reappears and wants her back. The telefilm stars Rob Morrow ("Numb3rs") as the stepfather, James Denton ("Desperate Housewives") as the biological father and Kay Panabaker (Warner Bros. "Nancy Drew") as the daughter. "Custody" (wt) will premiere in September 2007 on Lifetime Television.

In "Custody," when Amanda (Panabaker) lost her mother, her stepfather David (Morrow), a middle-class college professor, raised her as his own. In an instant, their perfect world is quickly turned upside down when Amanda's biological father, John Sullivan (Denton), a wealthy entrepreneur, returns to claim the daughter that he left behind. Unaware that David is not her biological father, Amanda is both angry and confused when she learns the truth. John is determined to win Amanda's affection by showing her the possibility of an affluent lifestyle, as David continues to show her that being a parent means much more than sharing DNA.

"It's truly unique for us to develop material with not one, but two, male leads and we are thrilled to have cast two popular television stars such as James Denton and Rob Morrow," Libby Beers, Senior Vice President, Original Movies, Lifetime Television. Adding, "This is a compelling story about an extremely bright young girl torn between two fathers who both love her and the choices she has to make."

Rob Morrow currently stars as Don Epps on the CBS series "Numb3rs." Morrow is best known for his portrayal of Dr. Joel Fleischman on the hit television series "Northern Exposure." His performance garnered him two Golden Globe(R) Awards and three Emmy(R) Award nominations for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series. His additional television credits include the made-for- television movies "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" and "The Thin Blue Lie." He also starred in the mini-series "Only Love" and "Jenifer," both on CBS. His feature film credits include the Academy Award(R) nominated film "Quiz Show," "Mother," "Last Dance," "Into My Heart," "The Emperor's Club" and "The Guru." Morrow also starred in "Maze," an independent feature that he wrote, directed and produced.

James Denton just completed his third season starring as Mike Delfino on the hit ABC series "Desperate Housewives." His other television credits include starring roles in "The Pretender," "Philly" and "Threat Matrix." Denton recently wrapped production on the feature film "Tortured" alongside Jon Cryer and Laurence Fishburne.

Kay Panabaker is currently starring in the soon-to-be released Warner Bros. feature film "Nancy Drew." Her additional film credits include "Monsters, Inc." and "Dead Heat." Panabaker is best known for her role on the WB series "Summerland" which garnered her a 2005 Young Artists Award. Her additional television credits include recurring roles on Disney Channel's "Phil of the Future" and The WB's "Angel." In addition, her guest-starring roles include "Two and a Half Men," "Medium," "7th Heaven," "ER," "The Division," "The Brothers Garcia" and "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment."

"Custody" is produced by Jaffe Braunstein Films in association with Gail Lyon Films for Lifetime Television. Howard Braunstein ("The Party Never Stops") Michael Jaffe ("Write & Wrong") and Gail Lyon ("Erin Brockovich," "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton") serve as executive producers. Kathy Kloves wrote the script. Nadia Tass is directing.

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 (http://www.lifetimetv.com) 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