The Starter Wife

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The Starter Wife
The Starter Wife title card
Genre	Comedy / Drama
Running time	6:00 hours
Creator	Gigi Levangie
Written by	Gigi Levangie (novel) Josann McGibbon & Sara Parriott (screenplay)
Directed by	Jon Avnet
Produced by	Jon Avnet Stephanie Davis Howard Klein Gigi Levangie Josann McGibbon Sara Parriott
Starring	Debra Messing Judy Davis Miranda Otto
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	USA Network
Original run	May 31, 2007 –
No. of episodes	6
Official website
IMDb profile

The Starter Wife is a 2007 USA Network television miniseries, based on the novel of the same name by Gigi Levangie Grazer. Its title is derived from the concept of a starter marriage. Filmed over four months in Queensland, Australia,^{[citation needed]} the plot focuses on Molly Kagan (Debra Messing) who, after years of marriage to a Hollywood film mogul, is forced to redefine herself and her role in society when he leaves her for a younger woman.

The mini-series premiered with a two-hour presentation on May 31, 2007 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The premiere attracted 5.4 million viewers, with 2.8 million of them being adults aged 25-54 (the network's target demographic). Ratings steadily decreased as the series progressed.

A number of pre-release teaser commercials aired on the USA network and its website. The teasers featured the songs "Golden" by Jill Scott and "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. The series is available for purchase on iTunes (to American customers only) and was available for DVD purchase starting September 11, 2007.

The series was nominated for ten Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Debra Messing), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie (Joe Mantegna) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Judy Davis). Davis was the sole winner.

Messing was nominated for a 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or a TV Movie and a 2008 SAG Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Miniseries of TV Movie. Both awards were won by Queen Latifah for her role in Life Support

Although it initially was intended to be only a six-part miniseries, it was reported that USA renewed The Starter Wife as a regular series ^[1]. Production on the series initial season, consisting of ten episodes was delayed due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike but will now air in October of 2008.

1 Characters
2 Nielsen Ratings by episode
3 International broadcasting
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Characters

Molly Kagan (Debra Messing) is a 41-year-old wife and mother of five-year-old daughter Jaden (Bethany Whitmore). Soon after the characters are introduced, she is abandoned by her husband and is forced to rebuild her life and assert herself within the film community, most of which ignores her after the split.

Joan McAllister (Judy Davis) is Molly's oldest friend and an alcoholic socialite who lends Molly her beachfront Malibu home when she pretends to jet off to Paris but actually enters a rehab center in Ojai. She later calls upon Molly to impersonate her non-existent sister "Bambi," upon whom she has placed all blame for her failings, when her therapist insists the two confront each other and work out their hostilities.

Kenny Kagan (Peter Jacobson) is Molly's soon-to-be ex-husband and President of Production at Durango Pictures. He leaves Molly for a woman half his age and aims to replace the current CEO of the company.

Cricket Stewart (Miranda Otto) is one of Molly's friends whose allegiance to her is tested when her film director husband, a business associate of Kenny, demands she break all ties with her. When she discovers him in a compromising situation with their children's nanny, she orders him to leave the house and reconnects with Molly.

Sam Knight (Stephen Moyer) is a homeless beach bum who saves Molly from drowning. He openly scorns her as superficial but the two eventually become involved in a romantic relationship. It is later revealed he spent five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after his best friend was killed in a car crash caused by Sam's DUI.

Lou Manahan (Joe Mantegna) is the head of Durango Pictures. He fakes his suicide by drowning to start anew, yet cannot help but attend his memorial service (disguised as a woman) to see how his friends and colleagues react to his death.

Lavender (Anika Noni Rose) is the security guard at the entrance to the gated community where Joan lives. Molly takes her and her grandmother under her wing when they are evicted from their apartment for having a dog.

Rodney (Chris Diamantopoulos), one of Molly's best friends, is a gay interior decorator suffering a financial setback.

Shoshanna (Trilby Glover) is a young pop music singer who becomes involved with Kenny. It is revealed she was only using him to advance her career and she dumps him when he is fired from his job.

[edit] Nielsen Ratings by episode

Episode #	Title	Air Date	Rating^[2]	25–54^[3]	Viewers	Cable Rank^[4]
1 & 2	"Premiere"	May 31, 2007	3.7	2.8	5.39	#5
3	"Hour 3"	June 7, 2007	2.7	?	3.92	#7
4	"Hour 4"	June 14, 2007	2.5	?	3.55	#9
5	"Hour 5"	June 21, 2007	2.2	?	3.15	#22
6	"Finale"	June 28, 2007	1.7	?	2.82	#29

[edit] International broadcasting

Country	TV Network(s)	Series Premiere	Weekly Schedule
United States	USA Network	May 31, 2007
Canada	A-Channel	September 10, 2007	Mondays at 9:00pm
Australia	Network Ten	December 5, 2007	Wednesdays at 8:30pm
Thailand	Hallmark Channel	October 21, 2007	Sundays at 8:00pm
Malaysia			Sundays at 9.00pm
Singapore
Hong Kong
Philippines
Portugal	MOV	December 2007
Brazil	Telecine Premium	October 2007	Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (16, 17 and 18) at 9.00pm January 2008 [Re-run]
United Kingdom	Sky Movies Drama	December 10, 2007	Mondays at 9:40pm
Turkey	CNBC-e	March 2008
Sweden	Kanal5	March 11, 2008	Tuesday at 9:00 pm
Germany	Premiere	February 19, 2008	Tuesdays at 8:15pm
Croatia	Nova TV	announced	TBD