PREMIERE

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE STARS AS SAMANTHA NEWLY, A WOMAN WHO AWAKENS FROM AN EIGHT-DAY COMA WITH AMNESIA -- AND THE CHANCE TO START OVER IN LIFE -- ON THE PREMIERE OF ABC'S "SAMANTHA WHO?"

What if you had the chance to start over? For Samantha Newly (Christina Applegate), this fantasy becomes a reality after a hit-and-run accident leaves her in an eight-day coma, on the premiere of "Samantha Who?," MONDAY, OCTOBER 15 (9:32-10:02 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

On the premiere episode, "Pilot," Samantha awakens in the hospital and is surrounded by family and friends. The only problem is that she has no idea who they are � or who she is. Sam has retrograde amnesia, which allows her to fully function in the world but leaves her with no personal memories. Most people would deem this disorder a curse. But Sam may come to call it a miracle when she discovers what a horrible person she was before the accident.

As she sets out to rediscover herself, Sam is forced to rely on an eclectic bunch of friends and family. Regina (Jean Smart, "24," "Designing Women") and Howard (Kevin Dunn, "Transformers," "Dave") appear to be loving parents -- when they're not downplaying the fact that Sam hasn't spoken to them in two years. Her supposed best friend, Dena (Melissa McCarthy, "Gilmore Girls"), is sincerely supportive, until her real best friend, party girl Andrea (Jennifer Esposito, "Crash," "Spin City"), exposes the fact that Dena hasn't seen or spoken to Sam since the seventh grade. Making things even more awkward, Sam has no recollection of her live-in boyfriend, Todd (Barry Watson, "What About Brian," "7th Heaven").

Sam quickly discovers she was a horrible person, vain, selfish and potentially surrounded by far more enemies than friends. She makes a conscious decision to improve herself moving forward. She vows to make better choices, even though her instincts may not always steer her in the right direction. She begins with Frank (Tim Russ, "Live Free or Die Hard," "Star Trek: Voyager"), the doorman at her apartment building. Sam never gave him the time of day before, but upon actually saying hello to him, she discovers an incredibly observant and unlikely confidant.

Sam will need to continue to piece together things from her past to guide her in discovering who she is� or was. After all, sometimes to get to the end of the story, the only place to start is the beginning.

"Samantha Who?" stars Christina Applegate as Samantha, Jennifer Esposito as Andrea, Kevin Dunn as Howard, Melissa McCarthy as Dena, Tim Russ as Frank, with Barry Watson as Todd and Jean Smart as Regina.

Guest starring are William Abadie as Rene, Nakia R. Burrise as Dr. Kerry Hall, Jelynn Rodriguez as angry woman, Adam Jennings as barista and Brett Rickaby as AA leader.

The story for "Pilot" was by Cecelia Ahern and Donald Todd, and the teleplay by Todd. It was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill.

"Samantha Who?" was created by best-selling Irish author Cecelia Ahern and Donald Todd ("Ugly Betty"). Todd and Peter Traugott serve as executive producers. "Samantha Who?," which is filmed in Los Angeles, is from ABC Studios.

"Samantha Who?" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound and Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG,L parental guideline.

This episode of "Samantha Who?" will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.