Jackie and Tara Coming Back for Thirds

Jackie and Tara Coming Back for Thirds

SHOWTIME Gives Its Hit Dark Comedy Series NURSE JACKIE and UNITED STATES OF TARA Third Season Pick Ups

LOS ANGELES, March 25 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of record ratings for their second season debuts, two of SHOWTIME's critically and audience acclaimed original comedy series NURSE JACKIE and the Emmy® winning UNITED STATES OF TARA, have both been renewed for a third season. Both half-hour comedy series have received 12 episode orders and will go into production later in the year. The announcement was made today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060131/SHOWTIMELOGO )

"SHOWTIME is enormously proud of these two series starring two of the best actresses working today," said Greenblatt. "Both are iconic shows for our brand and our thanks to the dedicated producers, cast, and crews who work so hard to make them so great. Edie Falco's portrayal of the fierce 'Jackie' is another extraordinary example of her range and brilliance, and recent Emmy® and Golden Globe® wins for Toni Collette in her tour de force role as a woman with multiple personalities put her in a class by herself. Strong women will continue to rule on this network for a long time to come."

The first season of SHOWTIME's hit dark comedy series NURSE JACKIE starring Emmy® Award winner Edie Falco was both an audience and critical success, culminating with its selection as one of AFI's Top Ten Television Series of 2009 and Golden Globe® and SAG award nominations for Edie Falco. At the end of last season, Jackie's (Edie Falco) struggle to keep her dual lives appeared to be in jeopardy as Eddie (Paul Schulze) discovered the truth about her marriage and children. Season two picks up a few months after she has cut ties with Eddie and all seems well in Jackie's world as she is determined to spend more time with her husband (Dominic Fumusa) and two daughters (Ruby Jerins, Mackenzie Aladjem). With Eddie out of the picture both personally and professionally, her access to drugs has diminished, but her cravings have not. Last season, Jackie's extreme measures to keep her life on balance was a high wire act. In season two, the wire only gets higher.

Season 2 of the series also stars Eve Best, Merritt Wever, Paul Schulze, Dominic Fumusa, Anna Deavere Smith and Peter Facinelli. Ruby Jerins and Mackenzie Aladjem guest star and Stephen Wallem and Arjun Gupta co-star. NURSE JACKIE was created by Evan Dunsky and Liz Brixius & Linda Wallem.

NURSE JACKIE is co-produced by Lionsgate and Showtime Networks Inc.

UNITED STATES OF TARA stars Toni Collette, in her Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning role as Tara, a woman who juggles being a suburban wife, mother and sister while also having DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer and created and executive produced by Academy® Award winner Diablo Cody, the series delves into how a family copes with the various personalities that may appear on any given day, including "Buck," a gun-toting Vietnam vet and "Alice," a Betty Crocker homemaker who thinks baking is the answer to all problems. John Corbett also stars as "Max" her supportive husband who tries to keep the family together and "Kate" (Brie Larson) and "Marshall" (Keir Gilchrist) are her children who just wish their mother was a bit more "normal."

UNITED STATES OF TARA is produced by Showtime Networks Inc. in association with DreamWorks Television.

About Showtime

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME® TOO(TM), SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE® and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD(TM), SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(TM) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME® PPV.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF) is the leading next generation studio with a strong and diversified presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on-demand and digitally delivered content. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming through Debmar-Mercury, reality programming through its joint venture with ISH Entertainment and an array of channel platform assets. Lionsgate has nearly 20 television series airing or scheduled to air on 11 different networks from its in-house production operations, through distribution by Debmar-Mercury or as part of its ISH Entertainment joint venture. Its programming roster is headed by such critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking shows as "Mad Men," " Weeds," "Nurse Jackie," "Crash," "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," "Meet The Browns," "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Paris Hilton's My New BFF." Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand remains synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

About DreamWorks

DreamWorks Television is a division of DreamWorks SKG which was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. DreamWorks Television is currently in production on seasons five and six of "Rescue Me" on FX, season one of the reality series "Wedding Day" for TNT and the pilot for the ABC comedy "Single with Parents" starring Alyssa Milano, Beau Bridges and Annie Potts. In the longform arena, DreamWorks Television and co-production partner Playtone are in post production on "The Pacific" for HBO. The division previously produced the Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominated "Into The West" for TNT as well as the Emmy® Award winning "Taken" for the SciFi Channel. Other past DreamWorks Television projects include: "Spin City," "Band of Brothers," "Father of the Pride," "Freaks and Geeks," "The Job," "Boomtown," "Undeclared," "Carpoolers," "The Contender" and "Las Vegas."

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060131/SHOWTIMELOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: SHOWTIME

CONTACT: Faye Katz, +1-212-708-1406, Faye.katz@showtime.net or Jackie
Ioachim, +1-212-708-1220, Jackie.ioachim@showtime.net or Johanna Fuentes,
+1-212-708-1590, Johanna.fuentes@showtime.net, all of SHOWTIME

-------
Profile: intent