The WB Network Orders Comedy Pilot “Hayley Wagner, Star” Starring Mel Harris, Ted Mcginley & Newcomer Bethany Richards As Hayley Wagner

(April 12, 2000 – Burbank, CA) – The WB Network has ordered the comedy pilot “HAYLEY WAGNER, STAR” from Viacom Productions for the 2000-2001 season. The pilot, starring Mel Harris (“thirtysomething”), Ted McGinley (“Married With Children”) and newcomer Bethany Richards as Hayley Wagner, was created by “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” creator Nell Scovell as a potential companion piece to “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” which was recently acquired by The WB. The announcement was made today by Susanne Daniels, President, Entertainment, The WB and Perry Simon, President, Viacom Productions. “HAYLEY WAGNER, STAR” features a former pampered child movie star who has to adjust to being a “regular” teen after her career fades. Airing originally as a Showtime movie last September, “HAYLEY WAGNER, STAR,” was created as a back-door pilot for a sitcom and was written , directed and executive produced by Scovell. This was the similar strategy Viacom used to sell “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” to ABC after its two-hour Showtime broadcast. “Who better to create a companion piece for “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” than Nell Scovell, whose work I have great respect for,” said Susanne Daniels. “We are thrilled to be working with Nell Scovell and The WB to transition ‘HAYLEY WAGNER, STAR’ from a Showtime movie to a series, employing the same successful strategy used to launch the ‘Sabrina’ franchise,” said Perry Simon. Ted McGinley is best known for his role as Jefferson D’Arcy in the popular Fox series “Married With Children.” His credits also include “Sports Night,” “The Love Boat” and “Happy Days.” Mel Harris most recently starred in the ABC series “Something So Right” and is perhaps best known for her role as Hope Steadman on the Emmy award-winning “thirtysomething.” In addition to creating “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” Scovell was supervising producer of "Murphy Brown" and producer of ABC's "Coach." She has also written for such successful television series as "Late Night With David Letterman," "The Simpsons," "The Critic" and "Newhart." # # #