Showtime Brings FRIENDS Star Kudrow's WEB THERAPY To Air In 2011

Emmy(R) Award-winning actress Lisa Kudrow joins the growing list of celebrated stars in the SHOWTIME line-up with the pick-up of her original online comedy series WEB THERAPY, it was announced today by SHOWTIME Networks' President of Entertainment Robert Greenblatt. SHOWTIME will air a minimum of 10 half-hour episodes that will include additional new material to be shot.

For WEB THERAPY - which recently launched its third online season - Kudrow plays a self-professed psychotherapist who treats patients via webcam in hilarious sessions that are way too brief to ever make any material progress in her clients' lives. And for the clients she has amassed a roster of comedic guest star talent that includes Jane Lynch ("Glee"), Rashida Jones ("The Office"), and Courteney Cox ("Cougar Town"), among others. This innovative series was conceived and is executive produced by Kudrow and her producing partners Dan Bucatinsky (for their Is or Isn't Entertainment) and director/producer Don Roos, all of whom executive produce NBC's "Who Do You Think You Are?". Roos' extensive feature credits include MARLEY & ME, THE OPPOSITE OF SEX, and the soon to be released LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE PURSUITS, starring Kudrow and Golden Globe(R) winner Natalie Portman, produced by Kudrow and Bucatinsky for Is or Isn't. The original online WEB THERAPY episodes are sponsored by Lexus and can be seen at http://www.lstudio.com/web-therapy/.

"I've always been a huge fan of Lisa, Dan, and Don, who master-minded this very clever show," said Greenblatt. "As the TV landscape continues to change, we really fell in love with the idea of taking something that has made so much noise on the web and re-conceiving it with the original creators as a completely satisfying yet different experience for a half-hour audience on a television network." "SHOWTIME is the only place on television where this belongs," said Kudrow. "I couldn't dream of a better television home for this series. I'm thrilled."

In WEB THERAPY, Kudrow channels "Dr. Fiona Wallice," a narcissistic, so-called therapist with no discernable training who aims to "heal" her patients online in weekly, three-minute sessions - a modality she believes more effective than the traditional 50-minute talk-a-thons heralded by other mental health professionals. However, she spends more time feigning boredom, interrupting and giving meaningless personal data than hearing her patient's issues. The actors, also including Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine"), Michael McDonald ("Mad TV"), and veteran star Bob Balaban ("For Your Consideration"), are given a script framework, but ad-lib their performances with riotous results.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNELTM and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME(R) TOOTM, SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE(R) and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL HDTM, SHOWTIME ON DEMANDTM and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMANDTM. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME(R) PPV.

Photos by Sara De Boer / Retna Ltd.

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