The first season of Lifetime's dramedy series Drop Dead Diva met with critical acclaim and introduced TV audiences to breakout star Brooke Elliott whose convincing portrayal of Jane Bingum — a brilliant, plus-size lawyer whose body is inhabited by the soul of a vapid model — earned her a Gracie Award and a Prism Award nomination. Lifetime will re-introduce audiences to the first four episodes that launched the series, now in production on its third season which will premiere in June 2011. The marathon will air on Friday, April 8 starting at 8:00pm ET/PT with the first four episodes from season one.
The one-hour, comedic drama produced by Sony Pictures Television also stars Margaret Cho, Jackson Hurst, Kate Levering, April Bowlby, Josh Stamberg and Ben Feldman.
The marathon schedule is as follows:
Episode 1: "Pilot"
Guest Starring Ben Feldman, Brooke D'Orsay
When beautiful-but-vapid model wannabe Deb has a fatal car accident, she suddenly finds herself in front of Heaven's gatekeeper, Fred, who declares her a self-centered "zero." Outraged, she attempts to persuade Fred to return her to her shallow existence but is accidentally relegated to the body of the recently deceased Jane Bingum. A brilliant, thoughtful and plus-size attorney with a loyal assistant, Teri, Jane has always lived in the shadow of her more comely colleagues whereas Deb has always relied on her external beauty. Now, by a twist of fate and a bolt of divine intervention, Deb must come to terms with inhabiting Jane's plus-size frame in the ultimate showdown between brains and beauty.
Episode 2: "The F-Word"
Guest Starring Ben Feldman, Brooke D'Orsay, Reed Diamond, Rebecca Field, Myndy Crist
Deb discovers what life is like for Jane in her body as she takes on a case defending a cocktail waitress who is fired after she gains 50 lbs. Grayson and Kim represent Chad in a divorce but the only thing he wants from back from his wife is his kidney.
-more-
Episode 3: "Do Over"
Guest Starring Rosie O'Donnell, Chuck Woolery, Ben Feldman, Brooke D'Orsay
Jane's past catches up with her when a case from the prior year is up for retrial. Jane has difficultly containing her emotions and is thrown in contempt of the court and ends up behind bars. Kim and Grayson sue a shrink who "cured" their client's husband of his multiple personalities, only she got rid of the wrong one.
Episode 4: "The Chinese Wall" — Airs August 2
Guest Starring Sharon Lawrence, Mark Moses, Diedrich Bader, Ben Feldman
Jane defends her - rather Deb's - mom in a divorce suit when Grayson turns down her mom's request since he is already representing Deb's dad. Deb gets a chance to spend time with her mom Bobbi and starts to learn to let go of her old life. Kim represents a dog owner who sues a pet cloning company for breach of contract as he feels this clone is NOT the same dog as his first dog, who was a Westminster champion.
˘ Season 3 returns in June with previously announced guest stars: LeAnn Rimes, Wendy Williams, Paula Abdul, Louis Van Amstel, Nick Zano, Mario Lopez, Tony Goldwyn, Jennifer Tilly and Howard Hesseman.
˘ Catch up on DROP DEAD DIVA seasons 1 and 2 via iTunes, Amazon.com, Hulu (season 2 from May 19-June 19), Netflix (season 1)
˘ Season 2 DVD goes on-sale May 3