Valerie Bertinelli to Star in Pilot for New TBS Comedy Series From Successful Sitcom Writer/Executive Producer Dave Caplan

Sitcom about Single Mother Running a Business Is Inspired by Events in Caplan's Own Life

Two-time Golden Globe winner Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time) is returning to the world of sitcoms. She has just signed to star in a new comedy pilot for TBS from writer/executive producer Dave Caplan, whose credits include TBS's highly popular sitcom The Bill Engvall Show, as well as George Lopez and The Drew Carey Show. The as-yet-untitled sitcom centers on a single mother trying to run a business while raising two children. The premise of the show is inspired by events in Caplan's own life. Caplan wrote the pilot script and will serve as executive producer along with Original Film's Neal Moritz (The Fast and the Furious, I Am Legend) and Vivian Cannon (Thief). Bertinelli will serve as producer. The project comes to TBS from Sony Pictures Television.

"Valerie Bertinelli became a popular fixture on television playing one of two children being raised by a single working mother," said Michael Wright, senior vice president in charge of the Content Creation Group for TBS, TNT and Turner Classic Movies. "Now she's exploring that world from the opposite angle, playing a single working mother raising two children. Between Valerie's comic skills and Dave Caplan's highly relatable humor, we're very excited to watch this pilot take shape."

The Caplan project follows the life of a woman who manages to get through the day with surprisingly good humor despite very difficult circumstances: Her husband walks out, leaving her with two kids and a struggling lumberyard. It will take every ounce of energy she has to keep both her household and her business afloat, while facing obstacles at every turn.

In addition to her starring role on One Day at a Time, Bertinelli is fondly remembered for her work on the long-running drama series Touched by an Angel. Most recently she starred in Lifetime's True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet. She also starred in the TV series Caf Americain and Sydney, as well as such TV movies and miniseries as Night Sins, Two Mothers for Zachary, In a Child's Name and I'll Take Manhattan. This past spring, Bertinelli released her inspirational autobiography, Losing It and Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time, which became a New York Times bestseller. She is presently a spokesperson for Jenny Craig and has a talk show in development for the 2009 season with CBS TV Distribution Group.

Recently serving as executive producer of George Lopez, Caplan also worked as executive producer of The Drew Carey Show from 2001 2004 and wrote several episodes, including the series finale.

TBS, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television's top-rated comedy network. It serves as home to such original comedy series as My Boys, The Bill Engvall Show, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, 10 Items or Less and Frank TV; hot contemporary comedies like The Office, My Name is Earl, Sex and the City, Everybody Loves Raymond, Family Guy, The King of Queens, Seinfeld and Friends; specials like Funniest Commercials of the Year; special events, such as The Comedy Festival in Las Vegas and Just For Laughs: A Very Funny Festival in Chicago; blockbuster movies; and hosted movie showcases.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.