Lifetime’s Original Series Kick Off a Ladies’ Night Out

NBC has its Must-See TV. Starting tonight, Lifetime Television will have Must-She TV.

Lifetime, the 14-year-old basic cable network meant to appeal to women, will launch a block of original weekly series comparable in look and quality to shows on broadcast networks, but with a decidedly female point of view.

Douglas W. McCormick, president and CEO of Lifetime, said the drama and two comedies represent another step in the channel’s efforts to give women programming that is not available on traditional networks.

“When our audience tunes in [today], they will see something that is tailor-made for them,” McCormick said.

Added Dawn Tarnofsky, senior vice president of programming and production: “Women are not being represented on broadcast television. You don’t see women doing the balancing act between family and work; you don’t see women’s issues. They just don’t see themselves, and that’s what we’re determined to provide.”

The Tuesday block will kick off at 9 p.m. with an hourlong drama, “Any Day Now,” which stars Annie Potts and Lorraine Toussaint as childhood friends who encounter obstacles when they are reacquainted as adults. When they were children, they grew up in Alabama during the peak of the civil rights movement, and now they must deal with each other and the individual choices they made in life.

Premiering at 10 p.m. is “Maggie,” a comedy starring Ann Cusack as Maggie Day, a married woman on the verge of a midlife crisis as she hits 40. Going to work at an animal clinic, she finds herself attracted to a co-worker and begins questioning her marriage.

Following at 10:30 is “Oh Baby,” a comedy about a single thirtysomething businesswoman who decides to have a baby through artificial insemination when her longtime boyfriend refuses to make a commitment to marry her. The show stars Cynthia Stevenson and Joanna Gleason.

“There’s no way that shows with this kind of subject matter would get on network television,” Tarnofsky said.

McCormick said the launching of the block was a natural progression for the network, which reaches more than 71 million homes, after already establishing itself with female-oriented original movies, biographies, reality programming and female sports.

All three series have 13-episode commitments, with an option for nine more, and are being produced by major studios: Spelling Television for “Any Day Now,” Paramount Television for “Maggie” and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution for “Oh Baby.”

“Our financial resources on these shows is identical to that of the networks,” McCormick said. “It’s the same kind of license fees. We wouldn’t be able to get the major studios to do business with us if we didn’t. We’re really in this for the long haul.”

He added: “They also know that we’re not going to be trigger-happy with any of these shows if they don’t hit right away. We’re going to stay with them. And the studios know we can promote the heck out of these shows, and they won’t get lost among a dozen other new shows that a network might be putting on.”

‘Maggie’ Was Rejected by Disney

Dan O’Shannon, executive producer and creator of “Maggie,” said Lifetime offered him an opportunity when the other networks rejected the series, which he first developed at Disney in 1995.

“I think what Lifetime is doing is certainly gutsy,” said O’Shannon, a former executive producer on “Cheers” and “Suddenly Susan.” “I have to admire the confidence and what they’re shooting for.”

O’Shannon said that when he first created “Maggie,” then-head of Disney Television Dean Valentine, who is currently president of UPN, told him the show “had a bad concept, was badly written, poorly executed and not funny. After that, every door in Hollywood slammed in my face. [NBC Entertainment President] Warren Littlefield said he loved the show and wanted it for Thursday night if I would make Maggie single and 10 years younger. He wanted ‘Mad About You--The Dating Years.’ ”

When he heard that Lifetime was looking for original series, O’Shannon jumped at the chance. The association was a bit shaky in the beginning: “It was a little frightening at first. They wanted to be right on top of every decision. But it got better, and now there’s more trust happening here. It’s always a collaborative process.”

Asked if he felt it was a comedown to have a series on a cable network rather than a broadcast network, O’Shannon said, “I would rather do a show I liked in my garage than be on a Top 10 show that was really lame.”

Tarnofsky said Lifetime would like to add another night of original shows next year, but does not want to become like one of the broadcast networks with original series every night. “I think eventually we can have three or four nights of originals, and still be comfortable,” she said. “That’s where we want to be.”