TV LAND'S "HAPPILY DIVORCED" STARRING FRAN DRESCHER STARTS PRODUCTION ON ITS SECOND SEASON

New Episodes Premiere March 7 At 10:30 P.M. ET/PT

January 20, 2012 - New York, NY - TV Land announced today that the second season of the network's hit original sitcom, "Happily Divorced" began production on January 17, 2012 at CBS Radford Studios. The twelve new episodes of "Happily Divorced" will premiere on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. The sitcom, filmed in front of a live studio audience, stars and is inspired by the real-life story of sitcom favorite Fran Drescher ("The Nanny"), and revolves around Fran, a Los Angeles florist who finds out after 18-years of marriage that her husband is gay. Unable to sell the house with the economy tanking, she and her gay ex-husband Peter (John Michael Higgins, "Best in Show") must continue to live together happily divorced as they both re-enter the dating world. "Happily Divorced" also features acclaimed actors Tichina Arnold ("Everybody Hates Chris") as her best friend Judi; Rita Moreno ("OZ") and Robert Walden ("All The President's Men") as Fran's parents Glen and Dori and Valente Rodriguez ("George Lopez") as Cesar, her flower shop employee.

"Fran's sense of humor, timing and creative force will keep the fans of 'Happily Divorced' engaged and laughing," stated Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land. "We can't wait to see where she will take us in these next 12 episodes."

Last season, Drescher was reunited with her "Nanny" cast mates, Renee Taylor and Charles Shaughnessy. According to Nielsen, the first season of "Happily Divorced" earned an outstanding 1.0 A25-54 rating, up triple-digits (+179%) compared to TV Land primetime average and scored a 1.3 with W25-54, up +214% versus TV Land primetime. The series also attracted an average audience of 2.2M total viewers, up +125% versus primetime levels.

Drescher was nominated twice for both Golden Globe(R) and Emmy(R) Awards. This fall, she released her first children's book entitled "Being Wendy" which is added to Drescher's other writing credits that includes New York Times best-sellers Enter Whining and Cancer Schmancer.

Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson ("The Nanny"), Frank Lombardi and Franco E. Bario are executive producers, and Larry W. Jones and Keith Cox serve as executive producers for TV Land.

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