Showtime Orders I LOVE THIS FOR YOU to Series

SHOWTIME has picked up the half-hour comedy series I LOVE THIS FOR YOU, starring and executive produced by Emmy® nominee Vanessa Bayer (Saturday Night Live), along with fellow nominee Molly Shannon (The White Lotus, The Other Two) also leading the cast. Bayer co-created the series with Emmy nominee and two-time Peabody winner Jeremy Beiler (Saturday Night Live, Inside Amy Schumer, I Think You Should Leave), who will executive produce. Emmy and Peabody winner Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer, Dead to Me, Transparent) will serve as showrunner and executive produce along with Michael Showalter (The Big Sick, Wet Hot American Summer). The announcement was made TODAY by Gary Levine and Jana Winograde, Presidents of Entertainment, Showtime Networks Inc.

"Vanessa Bayer channels her beloved personality into an underdog part that is both close to her heart and universally relatable," said Winograde. "Combined with the immense talents of executive producers Jeremy Beiler, Jessi Klein and Michael Showalter and a tremendous cast, Vanessa's comedic brilliance as a performer, co-creator and executive producer have yielded an offbeat, emotional and laugh-out-loud series that we can't wait to bring to our SHOWTIME audiences."

Inspired by Bayer's own story of overcoming childhood leukemia, I LOVE THIS FOR YOU centers on Joanna Gold (Bayer) who dreams of becoming a host at a home-shopping channel. Working to shed her life-long label as "that cancer girl," she moves away from her parents, starts a budding romance for the first time in her adult life and forms a meaningful friendship with her idol Jackie, all against the backdrop of a highly competitive workplace run by an unstable billionaire, where people play dirty to succeed. Shannon appears as Jackie, the charismatic star of the network; Paul James (Soundtrack) as Jordan, a charming but dry stage manager; Ayden Mayeri (Homecoming) as Beth Ann, an ambitious insecure host; Matthew Rogers (Haute Dog) as Darcy, the ingratiating right-hand man to the CEO; and Emmy nominee Punam Patel (Special) as Beena, an offbeat backstage producer.

"I'm so thrilled to be making this show with SHOWTIME and that all of my hours of home shopping as a kid are finally paying off!" said Bayer. "It's been an absolute dream, and my co-creator, Jeremy Beiler, and I are so grateful to the entire creative team we feel so lucky to work with."

I LOVE THIS FOR YOU is executive produced by Vanessa Bayer, Jeremy Beiler, Michael Showalter and Jessi Klein, along with Megan Ellison and Sue Naegle of Annapurna, Jordana Mollick of Semi-Formal and Allyce Ozarski.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc., owns and operates the premium service SHOWTIME®, which features critically acclaimed original series, provocative documentaries, box-office hit films, comedy and music specials and hard-hitting sports. SHOWTIME is available as a stand-alone streaming service across all major streaming devices and Showtime.com, as well as via cable, DBS, telco and streaming video providers. SNI also operates the premium services THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as on demand versions of all three brands. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

Photos: Tony Rivetti Jr./SHOWTIME

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