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| LOVING LEAH (CBS)
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BROADCAST
HISTORY:
1/25/09
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STATUS:
telefilm/mini-series in the can |
DESCRIPTION:
(from CBS's press release) Emmy Award nominee Lauren Ambrose ("Six Feet Under") and Adam Kaufman ("Without a Trace") star in LOVING LEAH, a new "Hallmark Hall of Fame" presentation to be broadcast Sunday, Jan. 25 (9:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. This quirky love story revolves around the unexpected wedding and unconventional married life of a 26-year-old widow and her late husband's brother, a handsome 30-year-old cardiologist. Susie Essman ("Curb Your Enthusiasm"), Ricki Lake ("Hairspray," "China Beach"), Natasha Lyonne ("American Pie") and Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Mercedes Ruehl ("The Fisher King") also star. Jake Lever (Kaufman), a successful, 30-year-old Washington, D.C. doctor who seems to be living his dream, is stunned to learn of the death of his older brother, Benjamin. Jake and his mother, Janice (Ruehl), who are not religious, drifted apart from Benjamin after he moved away to become a rabbi and chose to devote nearly all of his time to his rabbinical duties and his faith. As a result, Jake and Janice are virtual strangers to Benjamin's young widow, Leah (Ambrose), and the other mourners in Benjamin's close-knit Hasidic community in Brooklyn, N.Y. Already ill-at-ease in Benjamin's world, Jake is shocked when he is asked to honor an ancient Levirate marriage law. As a single man, he's expected to marry the childless Leah to carry on Benjamin's name...or else deny his brother's existence in a ceremony that will release them from this generally un-enforced Jewish law. Despite his serious relationship with a beautiful surgeon, Carol (Christy Pusz), Jake finds it unthinkable to deny his brother's existence and impulsively suggests he and Leah marry and maintain a secretly platonic relationship in Washington, D.C. Leah gladly accepts as a means of finally pursuing her own dreams without offending her very traditional and domineering mother, Malka (Essman). Jake and Leah's oversimplified plan to live separate lives out of Jake's two-bedroom apartment proves to be more challenging than anticipated, especially when Leah's suspicious mother shows up unexpectedly. The harder they work to disguise their "pretend" marriage, the more their real love for each other grows. Ricki Lake portrays Gerry, the first female rabbi Leah has ever met, who invites Leah to join her temple in Washington, D.C. Natasha Lyonne plays Leah's sister, Esther. |
PRINCIPAL CAST INFORMATION:
· Adam Kaufman as Jake Lever
· Christy Pusz as Carol
· Lauren Ambrose as Leah
· Mercedes Ruehl as Janice
· Natasha Lyonne as Esther
· Ricki Lake as Gerry
· Susie Essman as Malka
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CREW INFORMATION:
· Brent Shields as EP
· Jeff Bleckner as DIR
· Michael Besman as EP
· P'nenah Goldstein as WRTR/PLAY
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GENRE(S):
· based on a play
· mow
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STUDIO INFORMATION:
· Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions
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