TV Land Greenlights Three Sitcoms Including 'Happily Divorced' Starring Fran Drescher, 'The Exes' Starring Donald Faison, Wayne Knight, David Alan Basche and Kristen Johnston and a New Season of Current Hit 'Retired at 35'

NEW YORK, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TV Land announced today that the network is moving forward with three sitcoms – two new series and a renewal for "Retired at 35."  These series join "Hot in Cleveland" which is now up to a 24 episode order for season three.  These pick-ups take TV Land from zero to four scripted sitcoms within less than a year's time, along with several additional sitcoms in development.

The two new series joining the network's roster are "Happily Divorced" marking Fran Drescher's ("The Nanny") return to television joined by John Michael Higgins ("Best in Show"), Tichina Arnold ("Everybody Hates Chris") and Rita Moreno ("West Side Story") as well as "The Exes" (working title) starring Donald Faison ("Scrubs") , Wayne Knight ("Seinfeld," "Hot in Cleveland"), David Alan Basche ("Law and Order," "The Starter Wife") and Kristen Johnston ("3rd Rock from the Sun").  Additionally, TV Land has renewed its hit sitcom "Retired at 35" starring George Segal, Jessica Walter and Johnathan McClain for a second season.  "Happily Divorced," "The Exes" and "Retired at 35" are all picked up for 10 episodes each.  "Happily Divorced" is slated to premiere June 15th along with new episodes of "Hot in Cleveland."  "The Exes" and "Retired at 35" will premiere next winter.

"We are so thrilled to be working with top comedic talent, both behind the scenes and in front of the camera," states Keith Cox, executive vice president, development and original programming, TV Land. "The talented writers on our sitcoms are giving us material that is fresh and fun and it is clearly connecting with our audience.  We're so excited to continue down this path."

"TV Land is committed to building a new home for situation comedies and we are ecstatic to build and expand on the success of our original scripted programming," said Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land.  "'Hot in Cleveland' and 'Retired at 35' have proven to us that our audience is hungry for new sitcoms with relatable, experienced characters and smart, contemporary writing.  We're looking forward to an amazing year working with all of this wonderful talent."

"Hot in Cleveland" continues to be a huge success scoring a strong 1.5 rating among the network's target audience of Adults 25-54, up 275% over TV Land's Primetime average, a 1.9 rating among Women 25-54, up over 330% above Primetime average and attracts an average of 3.1 million total viewers, over 220% above Primetime.  The sitcom remains the highest-rated and most-watched series in the history of the network.  "Retired at 35" has scored a notable 0.7 among TV Land's target Adults 25-54, up 80% from the network's Primetime average, a 0.9 among Women 25-54, up over 100% above Primetime average and attracts an average of 1.6 million total viewers, up 70% in Primetime.  "Retired at 35" is the second highest-rated and most-watched series on TV Land.

Written by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson ("The Nanny, "What I Like About You"), "Happily Divorced" is based on Fran Drescher's real life and centers around Los Angeles florist Fran (Drescher) as she deals with dating after finding out her realtor husband of 18 years (John Michael Higgins) is gay.  The show focuses on how she juggles her new relationships and her ex-husband post-divorce while still living under the same roof.  The cast is rounded out by Fran's best friend Judi (Tichina Arnold), her parents Dori and Glen (Rita Moreno and Robert Walden) and her flower delivery employee Cesar (Valente Rodriguez).  Additionally, in the pilot, Fran's love interest, Elliot, is played by D.W. Moffett.

Executive produced and written by Mark Reisman ("Frasier"), "The Exes" revolves around three divorced men, ladies man Phil (Donald Faison), homebody Haskell (Wayne Knight) and newly-single and needy Stuart (David Alan Basche).  The men live together in an apartment across the hall from their divorce attorney, Holly (Kristen Johnston), who also happens to be their landlord.  Holly avoids her own relationship and commitment issues by becoming immersed in the men's affairs as they put their lives back together and return to the dating scene.  In addition to Reisman, the series will also be executive produced by Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis ("Reba," "Titus").  

"Retired at 35," which was TV Land's second foray into original sitcoms, follows a disillusioned Manhattan businessman (Johnathan McClain) who decides to leave the New York City rat race and retire to Florida…30 years early!  He ends up moving into his parents' (George Segal and Jessica Walter) condo to reconnect with them, reevaluate his life and live the sometime elusive dream of early retirement that so many are working toward.   Filmed in front of a live studio audience, the series premiered in January 2011.  "Retired at 35" is written by Chris Case ("Reba," "Spin City") and executive produced by Michael Hanel and Mindy Schultheis.  

This Wednesday, March 23rd, at 10 and 10:30pm ET/PT, respectively, marks the finales of this winter's new episodes of "Hot in Cleveland" and "Retired at 35."

Please log onto www.tvlandpress.com for up-to-the-minute information, press releases and photos.

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About TV Land

TV Land is the programming destination featuring the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s and 50s. Consisting of original programming, classic and contemporary television series acquisitions, hit movies and a full-service Web site, TV Land is now seen in over 98 million U.S. homes.

About MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products.  The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 400 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, AddictingGames, Shockwave, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, SPIKE, TV Land, Atom, and GameTrailers.  

SOURCE TV Land

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