"DROP DEAD DIVA" TO RETURN WITH ALL-NEW EPISODES ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6

Guest Stars Rounding Out Season Five Include Emmy(R) Nominees Illeanna Douglas, Sharon Lawrence and Nancy Grace, SAG Award(R) Winner Peri Gilpin, SAG Nominee Richard Kind, Tony(R) Nominee Faith Prince, Jaleel White, Doug Savant, Rebecca Mader, Wally Langham and Jason Kennedy

Cast to Participate in Live Facebook Chat on Sunday, October 13

LOS ANGELES, CA (September 30, 2013) - Lifetime's critically-acclaimed series Drop Dead Diva returns this fall with five all-new episodes, beginning Sunday, October 6, at 9:00pm ET/PT. Starring Brooke Elliott and Emmy(R) Award nominee Margaret Cho, the series welcomes Emmy nominated actress Illeana Douglas (Six Feet Under), SAG Award(R) winner Peri Gilpin (Frasier), SAG nominee Richard Kind (Spin City), Jaleel White (Family Matters), Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives) and Rebecca Mader (Lost) to its guest star roster. The new episodes will also feature returning guests Emmy nominee Sharon Lawrence, Tony Award(R) nominee Faith Prince, Daytime Emmy nominee Nancy Grace, Wallace "Wally" Langham, Natalie Hall, Annie Ilonzeh and Jason Kennedy, among others, leading to the most shocking season finale in the series' history. Immediately following Drop Dead Diva's fall premiere, Lifetime will debut its new drama Witches of East End at 10:00pm ET/PT.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television, the one-hour comedic drama stars Brooke Elliott, Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, April Bowlby, Justin Deeley, Lex Medlin and Kate Levering.

Picking up on this summer's mid-season finale, Jane (Elliott) defends a former socialite, but her tactics put the firm in financial jeopardy and threatens its very existence. Meanwhile, Owen (Medlin) and Stacy (Bowlby) explore impending parenthood after Owen agrees to be her sperm donor. As the season continues, Grayson's (Hurst) relationship with Nicole (Ilonzeh) develops further as Paul (Deeley) makes a play to convince Jane to move on and begin dating again. And Teri (Cho), Jane's faithful assistant, continues to shine while helping her with both work and her ever-complicated personal endeavors.

To celebrate the fall return of the show, select members of the cast and crew, including Executive Producer Josh Berman, Jackson Hurst, April Bowlby, Kate Levering, Justin Deeley and Lex Medlin will participate in a live "Facebook Chat" on Sunday, October 13th, at 8:30pm ET, leading into that evening's all-new episode. The cast also will be chatting with fans on their personal Facebook pages, as well as Drop Dead Diva's official Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/dropdeaddiva, which has more than 750,000 likes. In addition, the series' summer mid-season finale, which originally aired on August 11, is now available for free on iTunes to allow Drop Dead Diva fans to catch up on the program in advance of its October 6 return.

ABOUT DROP DEAD DIVA

In Drop Dead Diva, beautiful-but-vapid model wannabe Deb, suddenly finds herself in front of Heaven's gatekeeper, Fred, following a fatal car crash. Outraged by her sudden demise, she attempts to persuade Fred to return her to her shallow existence but is accidentally relegated to the body of the recently deceased Jane Bingum. An intelligent, thoughtful and plus-size attorney with a loyal assistant, Teri, Jane has always lived in the shadow of her colleagues whereas Deb has always relied on her external beauty. By a twist of fate and a bolt of divine intervention, Deb must come to terms with inhabiting Jane's curvier frame and learn to reconcile her beauty queen ways with her brilliant, new mind.

Josh Berman (Bones, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) is creator and executive producer. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron (Academy Award(R) winning Chicago, Hairspray, Steel Magnolias) of Storyline Entertainment and Robert J. Wilson are executive producers.

ABOUT SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry's leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment around the world and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. In addition to one of the industry's largest libraries of feature films and television shows, SPT boasts a current program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. Internationally, SPT is a leader in local language productions around the world, some of which are co-produced with local partners, and sells SPE-owned formats in approximately 70 countries. To better serve its clients and partners worldwide, SPT maintains offices throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the People's Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. SPT's worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE's long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with 120 channel feeds, which are available in more than 142 countries reaching more than 500 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE's premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns Dutch entertainment company 2waytraffic, production company Embassy Row and Sony Movie Channel, and is a part owner of cable channel GSN, new 3D channel 3net, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premiere national advertising sales companies, handling the commercial inventory in SPT's syndicated series as well as in all of SPE's digital businesses in the United States. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

ABOUT LIFETIME

Lifetime is a premier female-focused entertainment destination dedicated to offering the highest quality original programming spanning scripted series, non-fiction series and movies. In 2012, as a result of its aggressive programming strategy that doubled the hours of original programming, Lifetime posted its strongest year-on-year growth among the key demographics in 10+ years, while also reaching its youngest median age in 16 years. Lifetime Television(R), LMN(R), Lifetime Real Women(R) and Lifetime Digital(TM) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A+E Networks. A+E Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst Corporation.