TV Land announced  its line-up of small screen vets that will guest star on season two of the network’s hit original sitcom, “Happily Divorced,” which premieres on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at 10:30pm ET/PT immediately following all-new episodes of “Hot in Cleveland.”

“Happily Divorced,” which is filmed in front of a live studio audience, stars and 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. The series 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 Glen and Dori and Valente Rodriguez (“George Lopez”) as Cesar, her flower shop employee.

“Fran’s sense of humor, timing and creative force will keep the fans of ‘Happily Divorced’ engaged and laughing,” stated Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land.  “We can’t wait to see where she will take us in these next 12 episodes.”

This season will see Fran and Peter continuing to adjust to their new life being a straight-gay divorced couple, from Peter having to come out to his brother to Fran selling Peter’s part of their joint burial plot, much to his dismay. Drescher will also once again re-unite with her former “Nanny” co-stars, including Renee Taylor, who appeared on “Happily Divorced” last season, and Ann Guilbert, who played Yetta on “The Nanny.”

Other guest stars will include Morgan Fairchild (“General Hospital,” “Friends”), Sean Kanan(“The Young and the Restless”) and D.W. Moffett (“Switched at Birth,” “Friday Night Lights”) in his recurring role as Elliott, Fran’s on-again-off-again flame.

According to Nielsen, the first season of “Happily Divorced” earned an outstanding 1.0 A25-54 rating, up triple-digits (+179%) compared to TV Land primetime average and scored a 1.3 with W25-54, up +214% versus TV Land primetime.  The series also 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).

Drescher was nominated twice for both Golden Globe and Emmy Awards for her starring role on “The Nanny.”  This past fall, she released her first children’s book entitled Being Wendy which is added to Drescher’s other writing credits that includes New York Times best-sellers Enter Whining and Cancer Schmancer.

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.

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TV Land has picked up its fifth original sitcom, “Have Faith,” starring Cedric “The Entertainer,” it was announced at the TCA Winter Press Tour by Larry W. Jones, president of TV Land. The network has ordered 12 episodes for the first season, which is set to premiere in June of this year.

The sitcom, which was created by Cedric and “Hot in Cleveland” creator Suzanne Martin, revolves around Cedric’s character, Reverend Boyce “The Voice” Ballentine, an R&B superstar-turned-minister who takes over as preacher of his father’s church. Niecy Nash (“Reno 911″) also stars as the reverend’s wife, Lolli.

The pilot features John Beasley (“Everwood”) as his father, Wesley Jonathan (“What I Like About You”) as his younger brother, and Jazz Raycole (“My Wife and Kids”) as his daughter. The character of Reverend Boyce originated on a second season episode of “Hot in Cleveland” in which Cedric guest-starred.

“The show that Cedric and Suzanne have created is a fantastic family sitcom that you just don’t see as much on TV today,” said Jones. “That’s just one of the reasons we’re so thrilled to welcome him to the TV Land family. From the moment he appeared on ‘Hot in Cleveland,’ we knew we wanted to work with him in a greater capacity.”

“Hot in Cleveland,” TV Land’s first original sitcom starring Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick, and Betty White has also been greenlit by the network for a 24-episode fourth season.  A syndication deal was recently reached for “Hot in Cleveland,” giving CBS Television Distribution the domestic distribution rights for the series. This season pickup would bring “Hot in Cleveland” to 80 total episodes. The series, which is currently in its third season, averages 2.5 million total viewers per episode.

“With the show’s recent win at The People’s Choice Awards and Betty’s recent SAG Award nomination, it’s clear that the fans love and want more of ‘Hot in Cleveland,’” said Jones. “TV Land is growing in a major way, and these pickups are just the tip of the iceberg.”

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