Laurie Metcalf, Bob Saget, Jaime Murray, Autumn Reeser, Judge Reinhold and Jeff Hephner to Star in Sunday Night Block
July 19, 2008 (Burbank, CA) ─ Casting and premiere dates were announced today for the new Sunday night line-up on The CW Network, including “In Harm’s Way,” “Surviving Suburbia,” “Valentine” and “Easy Money,” by Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, The CW and Keith Samples, President, Television, Media Rights Capital. “In Harm’s Way,” “Valentine” and “Easy Money” will premiere on Sunday, September 21, with “Surviving Suburbia” scheduled to debut on November 2, timed with the beginning of November sweeps. The four original programs are part of The CW Sunday night primetime programming block produced by Media Rights Capital. Programming for the 5:00-6:30 p.m. timeslots will be announced soon.
“IN HARM’S WAY” – Premiering September 21, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Beginning November 2, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
“In Harm’s Way” is a one-hour reality series that looks at lives of people doing dangerous jobs. Each unscripted episode will follow the brave individuals who risk their lives in a multitude of life-threatening jobs, including war photographers, oil well cappers, Coast Guard divers and minesweepers. Craig Piligian (“Dirty Jobs,” “Ultimate Fighter,” American Chopper,” “Survivor”) serves as Executive Producer for the series. “In Harm’s Way” is produced by Pilgrim Films and Television.
“SURVIVING SUBURBIA” – Premiering November 2, 7:30 – 8:00 p.m.
This half-hour comedy about a family and their new neighbors will star Bob Saget (“How I Met Your Mother,” “Full House”). Full casting will be announced in the next several weeks. Kevin Abbott (“Roseanne,” “Grace Under Fire,” “Reba,” “My Name is Earl”) serves as Executive Producer for the series along with producers Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis.
“Surviving Suburbia” follows Keith (Saget) and Anne Stevers, a seemingly normal couple who has been married for 20 years, have two children and a cookie cutter house in the idyllic suburbs. When the Stevers get new next-door neighbors, the real consternation of suburban existence begin. The neighbors’ bombshell 17-year-old daughter is a distraction for Keith; his son Henry becomes smitten with the teenage girl down the street who just got pregnant for the second time–making Keith say aloud that
“shame needs to be brought back as a national emotion.” His daughter Courtney is happily going through her life as an Indian Princess and her innocence is the one thing that Keith will want her to hold on to for as long as possible. Lastly, the new neighbors have filed a lawsuit against the Stevers to force Anne to cut down a bougainvillea vine in her garden. “Surviving Suburbia” proves that it’s never just another sunny day in the suburbs.
“VALENTINE” – Premiering September 21, 8:00-9:00 p.m.
“Valentine” stars Jaime Murray (“Dexter”), Kristopher Polaha (“North Shore”), Nikki Snelson (“Legally Blonde: The Musical”), Autumn Reeser (“The O.C.”), Patrick Fabian (“Veronica Mars”) Greg Ellis (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”) and Robert Baker (“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “Leatherheads”) as a family of Greek Gods, the Valentines, whose purpose is to bring about the rare, strange, and often hilarious thing called love. Kevin Murphy (“Desperate Housewives,” “Reaper,” “Ed”) serves as Executive Producer/Creator for the series along with Executive Producer Courtney Conte.
In the one-hour romantic comedy, the Valentines do whatever it takes to bring soulmates together, all the while keeping their true identities secret. Grace Valentine (Murray), the Goddess Aphrodite, is the sexy and seductive matriarch of the family; her son Danny Valentine (Polaha), the arrow-slinging Eros, has traded up for a magical gun that makes people temporarily fall in love; Danny’s best friend Leo (Baker), the muscle man Hercules, is the strong and emotional moral compass of the group; and Phoebe Valentine (Reeser) is the Goddess of the Oracle at Delphi, which helps the family track down and help bring soul-mates together. “Valentine” looks at love, fate and the work it takes to make romance happen.
“EASY MONEY” – Premiering September 21, 9:00-10:00 p.m.
The cast of “Easy Money,” a new one-hour drama about a family that runs a high interest loan business, includes Emmy Award-winning actress Laurie Metcalf (“Desperate Housewives,” “Roseanne”), Jeff Hephner (“The O.C.”), Judge Reinhold (“Swing Vote,” “The Santa Clause Trilogy”), Nick Searcy (“Rodney”), Jay Ferguson (“Sleeper Cell”), Gary Farmer (“Moose TV”) and Katie Lowes (“The Ghost Whisperer”). Diane Frolov and Andy Schneider (“Northern Exposure,” “The Chris Isaak Show,” “The Sopranos”) serve as Executive Producers for the series, along with producer Brandon Hill.
In “Easy Money,” 28-year-old Morgan Buffkin (Hephner) finds himself in charge of Prestige Payday Loans, his eccentric family’s enormously successful short-term loan business. Any doubts Morgan has about running his family’s business are quickly replaced by dealing with family business: Morgan’s brother Cooper (Ferguson) insists on driving a silver-plated Hummer, his sister Brandy (Lowes) has questionable morals, he suspects that his mother (Metcalfe) and father (Searcy) are not being completely honest with him about his relation to the family, and every so often, part-time detective Barry (Reinhold) drops in. “Easy Money” follows the Buffkin Family in a modern-day Dickensian tale of money and identity.
Following is the Sunday night premiere date schedule:
Sunday, September 21
7:00-8:00 p.m. “IN HARM’S WAY”
8:00-9:00 p.m. “VALENTINE”
9:00-10:00 p.m. “EASY MONEY”
Sunday, November 2
6:30-7:30 p.m. “IN HARM’S WAY” (New Timeslot)
7:30-8:00 p.m. “SURVIVING SUBURBIA”
About Media Rights Capital:
MRC is a leading independent film, television and digital studio. The company specializes in the creation of premium content, custom building distribution for each of its projects and partnering directly with leading creative talent. 2008 film projects include “Shorts,” written and directed by Robert Rodriguez; “The Box,” written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Cameron Diaz; “Linha de Passe,” written and directed by Walter Salles; “Foxcatcher,” written and directed by Bennett Miller; “Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho” and new films by Sacha Baron Cohen and Todd Field. Upcoming television projects include “The Goode Family” created by Mike Judge, John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky for ABC; “Outnumbered” by Larry Levin for Fox Television; “The Life and Times of Tim” created by Steve Dildarian, premiering in June on HBO; “Rita Rocks” for Lifetime Television; “Krod Mandoon” for Comedy Central; and a newly conceived “Name That Tune” in an unmatched cross-network arrangement between MTV, VH-1 and CMT. MRC is producing digital projects including an original series with Raven-Symone, Second City’s QUARANTINE, “Sometimes Daily” with Amanda Congdon and an upcoming animated series with original characters created by Seth MacFarlane.
About The CW:
The CW Network was formed as a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corporation. The CW is America’s fifth broadcast network and the only network targeting women 18-34. The CW offers a six-night, 13-hour primetime lineup that runs Sunday through Friday; a two-hour weekday afternoon block; and a five-hour Saturday morning animation block that delivers a total of 30 hours of programming a week over seven days. The network’s primetime schedule includes such popular series as “America’s Next Top Model,” “Gossip Girl,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Smallville,” and upcoming series including “90210” and “Stylista.”