February 14, 2012 — New York, NY — Fran Drescher is coming to New York City to paint the town red — with love! — on March 6, 2012. Drescher will officiate the marriages of three lucky gay couples in New York City at a venue to be announced in support of her "'Love Is Love' Gay Marriage Contest" and to kick off the second season of "Happily Divorced," which premieres Wednesday, March 7 at 10:30pm ET/PT. The online contest opened today at 12:01pm ET/9:01am PT on the "Happily Divorced" Facebook page and will end at 11:59pm ET/8:59pm PT on February 20, 2012. Fran received her minister license in order to perform these special ceremonies.
Fans of Drescher will be able to experience a piece of the excitement by checking into the event on FourSquare, using the #FranFan hashtag to interact with Fran during the ceremony on Twitter and viewing updates on the "Happily Divorced" Facebook page.
In order to enter the contest, candidates must either submit a video (not more than 120 seconds in length) or submit a photo and 350-word essay in which they tell their own love story, explain how their relationship best represents the idea that "love is love" and why they want to be married by Fran. Once the entry period has closed, Fran will hand-select her top three couples based on their story and originality. The contest is open only to residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
"I'm proud to be an American and I admire our constant strive towards liberty, justice, and equality for all," stated Drescher. "It is our duty to recognize that injustice exists and shift national consciousness to correct that injustice. Marriage equality is our opportunity to uphold our constitutional values, to stretch beyond our comfort zone and mature into a better version of ourselves. It is only by example that we may continue to be a beacon of freedom for the rest of the world. This is a no brainer, people; after all…love is love."
"Happily Divorced" is inspired by the real-life story of sitcom favorite Fran Drescher ("The Nanny"), and revolves around Fran, a Los Angeles florist who finds out after 18-years of marriage that her husband is gay. Unable to sell the house with the economy tanking, she and her gay ex-husband Peter (John Michael Higgins, "Best in Show") must continue to live together happily divorced as they both re-enter the dating world. "Happily Divorced" also features acclaimed actors Tichina Arnold ("Everybody Hates Chris") as her best friend Judi; Rita Moreno ("OZ") and Robert Walden ("All The President's Men") as Fran's parents Dori and Glen and Valente Rodriguez ("George Lopez") as Cesar, her flower shop employee. According to Nielsen, the first season of "Happily Divorced" attracted an average audience of 2.2M total viewers, up +125% versus primetime levels (Source: Nielsen, 6/15/11-8/17/11, Wed 10:30p-11p, L+7 data).
Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobson ("The Nanny"), Frank Lombardi and Franco E. Bario are executive producers, and Larry W. Jones and Keith Cox serve as executive producers for TV Land.
Enter to win here: http://www.facebook.com/happilydivorcedtv?sk=app_249780568435410)
Become a #FranFan here: http://www.twitter.com/tvland
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