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MARTHA BEHIND BARS
Air Date: Sunday, September 25, 2005
Time Slot: 9:00 PM-11:00 PM EST on CBS
Episode Title: "N/A"
[NOTE: The following article is a press release issued by the aforementioned network and/or company. Any errors, typos, etc. are attributed to the original author. The release is reproduced solely for the dissemination of the enclosed information.]

GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNER CYBILL SHEPHERD STARS IN "MARTHA BEHIND BARS," A NEW TELEVISION MOVIE TO BE BROADCAST SEPT. 25 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

MARTHA BEHIND BARS, a new television movie starring Golden Globe Award-winning actress Cybill Shepherd ("Moonlighting"), will be broadcast as the "CBS Sunday Movie," Sunday, Sept. 25 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The movie chronicles the events that led to the downfall and subsequent reemergence of America's favorite domestic diva, from the day her company goes public through her release from Alderson Federal Prison.

Stewart (Shepherd) is at the pinnacle of her success, celebrating the news that her self-built empire, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, has become a publicly traded company, thus making her a billionaire. Overseeing her magazine, television show and website, Stewart is at the top of her game until she decides to sell her shares of ImClone stock on December 27, 2001, one day before the FDA announced it had rejected an application for the approval of a new cancer drug, which sent the company's stock prices tumbling. Federal investigators link Stewart to ImClone CEO Sam Waksal, who is under investigation for insider trading, through her stockbroker, Peter Baconovic. Suddenly, one of the most successful women in the country is suspected of conspiracy, securities fraud and obstruction of justice.

Stewart is ultimately indicted, leading her to stand trial alongside Baconovic. Found guilty of all charges, she is sentenced to five months at Alderson Federal Prison, nicknamed "Camp Cupcake" by the nation's media, followed by five months of house arrest. Determined to clear her good name, Stewart pursues her appeal, but asks to begin her prison sentence early in an effort to put the nightmare behind her. She begins serving her prison term on October 8, 2004.

Prison proves to be a life-altering experience for Stewart, who regularly posts messages on her personal website describing her day-to-day activities, as well as urging the government to consider national prison reforms. When the embattled domestic diva is finally released from prison to begin the house arrest portion of her sentence on March 4, 2005, the nation embraces a new Martha -- thinner, more circumspect, ready to put the past behind her and start a fresh chapter in her intriguing, remarkable life.

Cybill Shepherd starred in and executive produced the television series "Cybill" on the Network. Recently, she starred in the television movie "Martha Stewart, Inc.," guest starred on the series "Eight Simple Rules" and "I'm With Her," and served as host of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus." Her other television credits include the movies "Journey of the Heart" and "There Was A Little Boy," on the Network, "While Justice Sleeps," "Baby Brokers," "Stormy Weathers," "Which Way Home," "The Long Hot Summer," "Telling Secrets," "Yellow Rose" and the series "Moonlighting," for which she won four Golden Globe Awards and four People's Choice Awards for best actress in a television comedy. Her feature film credits include

"The Last Picture Show," "The Heartbreak Kid," "Taxi Driver," "Daisy Miller," "Alice," "Married To It," "Once Upon a Crime," "Texasville," "Chances Are" and "Marine Life." Her theater credits include "Shot in the Dark," "The Seven Year Itch," "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," "Lunch Hour," "Vanities" and "Picnic." Shepherd has recorded 11 albums, including Cybill Getz Better, Vanilla, Somewhere Down the Road, Cybill Does It To Cole Porter, At Long Last Love, Talk Memphis to Me, Songs from the Cybill Show, Live at the Cinegrill and At Home With Cybill. She has also written a memoir, Cybill Disobedience: How I Survived Beauty Pageants, Elvis, Sex, Bruce Willis, Lies, Marriage, Motherhood, Hollywood, and the Irrepressible Urge to Say What I Think. Shepherd recently finished a sold-out run of her one woman show "Cybill Disobedience�With Music" at the Soho Theatre in London. Prior to that, she completed the feature film "The Detective."

MARTHA BEHIND BARS was produced by Paramount Pictures Television. Tom Patricia ("Homeless to Harvard," "Dawn Anna") is the executive producer; Frank Siracusa ("Platinum") is the producer. Eric Bross ("Traffic") directed the film from a script by Charles Bohl ("Swimfan").

RATING: To Be Announced

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