The half-hour, multi-camera series features Mowry-Hardrict as Stephanie, a party girl who trades in Cosmos for carpools when she marries Charlie (Michael Boatman, "Spin City", "Anger Management"), who already has three kids. NickMom has picked the sitcom up for 13 episodes and will premiere in Nick Jr. Channel USA's primetime NickMom block, with encore episodes airing on Nickelodeon USA's nighttime programming block, Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite).
In "Instant Mom", Stephanie (Mowry-Hardrict) slowly grows into her role as a full-time stepmom while struggling to maintain some sense of her fun-loving, slightly irresponsible life. Sheryl Lee Ralph ("Moesha") stars as Stephanie's mother Maggie, and rounding out the cast are Charlie's three kids played by Sydney Park ("CSI: NY"), Tylen Williams and Damarr Calhoun.
Original Nickelodeon Press Release:
Tia Mowry-Hardrict Takes On The Ultimate Crash Course In Parenthood As NickMom Debuts Instant Mom, Brand-New Comedy Series This Fall
NickMom's First Original Scripted Comedy Series also Stars Michael Boatman and Sheryl Lee Ralph
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NickMom this fall will premiere Instant Mom, its first original scripted comedy series, starring and produced by Tia Mowry-Hardrict (Tia & Tamera). The half-hour, multi-camera series features Mowry-Hardrict as Stephanie, a party girl who trades in Cosmos for carpools when she marries Charlie (Michael Boatman, Spin City), who already has three kids. The series is picked up for 13 episodes and will premiere in the primetime NickMom block on the Nick Jr. channel, with encore episodes airing on Nick at Nite.
([Download Image:] Photo [of the cast of NickMom's "Instant Mom"]: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130726/NY53081 )
"First-generation Nickelodeon viewers are now moms and will soon be treated to NickMom's first original comedy with someone they grew up watching and loving," said Bronwen O'Keefe, Senior Vice President, NickMom. "We're excited our audience will get to see Tia in her first starring role as a mom, joined by the very talented Michael Boatman and Sheryl Lee Ralph."
In Instant Mom, Stephanie (Mowry-Hardrict) slowly grows into her role as a full-time stepmom while struggling to maintain some sense of her fun-loving, slightly irresponsible life. Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha) stars as Stephanie's mother Maggie, and rounding out the cast are Charlie's three kids played by Sydney Park (CSI: NY), Tylen Williams and Damarr Calhoun.
Sophisticated, savvy and an all-around sweetheart, actress Tia Mowry-Hardrict has been in the public eye for over 17 years, gaining initial fame starring opposite her twin sister Tamera Mowry-Housley in the hit comedy Sister Sister from Paramount Television. On Sister Sister's successful six-year run, Tia won two NAACP Image Awards and three Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Television Actress. After graduating from Pepperdine University, she made appearances in various projects, including starring with her sister once again in The Disney Channel's original movie Twitches in 2005 and again in Twitches Too, two years later. In 2006, Tia landed the role of "Melanie Barnett," medical student turned wife of pro-football player on The Game, which landed her two more NAACP Image Award nominations.
Currently, Tia is starring in with her sister Tamera and executive producing the STYLE network series Tia & Tamera, which set a record as the most watched series launch in the network's history. Season three returns summer 2013. Tia recently released her debut book Oh Baby!: Pregnancy Tales and Advice from One Hot Mama to Another, and filmed and released a fitness DVD. With her sister, she developed and launched their first product line entitled need and their first product called MILKY! hit Destination Maternity stores nationwide this spring. Tia is also set to appear in the upcoming Fox Searchlight Pictures film Baggage Claim, to be released in September.
Instant Mom is executive-produced by Howard Gould and Aaron Kaplan. Gould had served as executive producer and head writer of Cybill when it won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series. He also wrote and directed the feature film The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, starring Tim Allen, Elisha Cuthbert, Andie MacDowell and Jenna Elfman. Gould's other credits include FM, Home Improvement, The Jeff Foxworthy Show, Mr. 3000 and Shrek the Third.
Aaron Kaplan is the Founder and CEO of Kapital Entertainment, a self-funded, truly independent production company. Since its formation in 2009, Kapital Entertainment has become a prominent leader in the media industry, known for its vast array of television, digital, and film content. In just over four years, Kaplan has executive produced over 150 episodes of television and has had ten television projects ordered to series including The Neighbors on ABC, Wendell & Vinnie on Nickelodeon, Chasing Life on ABC Family, Back in the Game on ABC and Friends with Better Lives on CBS. He also executive produced Fox's Terra Nova with Steven Spielberg and Peter Chernin. Since its formation, Kapital has had 21 pilots ordered.
NickMom is a new primetime ad-supported TV block for moms that airs on the Nick Jr. channel. The block features a mix of original long and short-form programming including talk shows, stand-up and sketch comedy, docu-series and more. Current series on NickMom include: NickMom Night Out; Take Me To Your Mother; MFF: Mom Friends Forever; Parental Discretion With Stefanie Wilder-Taylor and The New Adventures of Old Christine. NickMom recently picked up second seasons of the stand-up comedy series, NickMom Night Out, hosted by Sherri Shepherd (The View) and talk show hybrid Parental Discretion with Stefanie Wilder-Taylor. NickMom is also a comedy and entertainment site with extensive content including short-form video, photos, editorial pieces and games.
About Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon, now in its 34th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIA.B).
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Additionally, the entertainment industry news web site Deadline is reporting the Nick News that the producers and cast of NickMom's "Instant Mom", the blocks first original scripted comedy series, emphasized this morning (Friday 26th July 2013) at TCA Press Tour 2013 (The Television Critics Association) that the sitcom is a rarity for television these days. One reason is that it features a predominantly African-American cast. The other is that it's filmed and shown in front of a live audience, which star Tia Mowry-Hardrict believes gives it a different vibe:
TCA: NickMom’s ‘Instant Mom’ Producers & Stars On Its Diverse Cast; Live Audience
The producers and cast of NickMom‘s Instant Mom — the first original scripted comedy series for the nighttime mother-centric programming block of the Nick Jr. network — emphasized this morning at TCA that the sitcom is a rarity for television these days. One reason is that it features a predominantly African-American cast. The other is that it’s shown in front of a live audience, which star Tia Mowry-Hardrict believes gives it a different vibe. “There’s a different pace to having a live audience,” she said. “It really changes the show,” agreed castmate Michael Boatman. “You rehearse all week. You sort oflaugh internally. The producers laugh. You hear the beats. But it’s just not the same.” What you lose with a laughtrack, Boatman finds, is the chuckling at unpredictable moments. “The responses you get from a live audience provide a different type of typography for a show. It’s too bad that it’s such a rare thing these days, because it definitely brings a livelier energy as well as drawing the viewer in in a little more organic way.” Exec producer Howard Gould added that, as a writer, the live audience keeps him honest. “In the writers room on rewrite nights, when you know you’re going to have a live audience in place,” he says, “if it’s not funny enough you can stay and work another half-hour or an hour and make it as funny as it needs to be to work. It’s a little old school, but it’s a rich area of television that I think has been overlooked.”
In terms of having a predominantly black cast, castmate and veteran actress Sheryl Lee Ralph expressed hope that “folks will see this show and take on us with other shows — that you will see more color coming into television that represents America in its true diversity. Because it’s lacking on TV. And it’s lacking in this room, too.” That inspired the very white Gould to quip, “We hope to open things up for Jewish producers, too.”
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