"COCKTAILS AND TALL TALES WITH INA GARTEN AND MELISSA MCCARTHY" EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON DISCOVERY+ MARCH 26TH

NEW YORK - January 26, 2021 - Daytime Emmy Award-winning host, Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actress, writer and producer Melissa McCarthy have long been fans of one another from afar. Now the two are finally getting to meet, virtually that is, when Cocktails and Tall Tales with Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy premieres exclusively on discovery+ on Friday, March 26th. In the special, shot on location from Ina's home in East Hampton, New York, as well as from outside Sydney, Australia where Melissa and her family have been the last few months, these two megastars invite fans to join them for cocktails and a unique one-on-one conversation. Fans of Ina's 'Quarantini' from last spring will be able to update their own drinking game, as the ladies explore a new cocktail concoction.

"We have all been stuck home looking for new ways to make it through each day safely and when the opportunity to meet and maybe have a drink with Melissa was presented, I immediately cleared my schedule," said Garten. "Melissa is a brilliant comedic talent who I have long admired and I think she and her husband Ben would make an excellent double-date couple for Jeffrey and myself."

Traditionally in her show, Ina invites viewers into her home and shares delicious recipes that make us all wish we were invited over for brunch, lunch, dinner, or even just to wash dishes. In this exclusive discovery+ special, Melissa scored the sought-after invitation and they both thought it would be fun to let viewers in on the occasion. As a bonus, it is very likely both will have their significant others join for a toast as well.

Melissa added, "The fact that Ben and I are having a double-date via zoom, with our soon to be new best friends Ina and Jeffrey Garten seems like a wonderful fever dream. I mean, two of our daughter's first words were Ina and ganache...Seriously."

"Ina Garten and Melissa McCarthy are two incredibly talented individuals with amazing passion, warmth and sense of humor, and Ina and Melissa together, even if only virtually, will surely entertain," said Courtney White, President, Food Network. "Though current times wouldn't allow for these two icons to meet face-to-face, the conversation, quick wit and, of course, oversized cocktails will absolutely hold us all over until we can get these two into a kitchen together."

Ina Garten is a New York Times bestselling cookbook author of twelve cookbooks and the host of Food Network's Emmy Award-winning Barefoot Contessa. Her twelfth book "Modern Comfort Food" was released in October 2020. She lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband, Jeffrey. Viewers can browse Ina's top recipes and brush up on their entertaining skills at FoodNetwork.com/BarefootContessa and learn more about Ina, her bestselling cookbooks and her Emmy Award-winning(R) television show at BarefootContessa.com. Join the conversation on social media using @InaGarten and #BarefootContessa.

Melissa McCarthy is an actress, writer, producer, and fashion designer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. In 2020, The New York Times ranked her among its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

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