Stewart to host restyled TV show
By David Bauder
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Martha Stewart will revive her daily homemaking show next September, this time with a live audience, celebrity guests and the help of "The Apprentice" producer Mark Burnett.
Stewart, in prison and not allowed to conduct business, was not involved in the deal with NBC Universal to syndicate the show but is "very pleased," said Susan Lyne, president of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
NBC-owned stations in 14 major cities have agreed to air the daytime show, and deals will be sought in other cities.
"Millions of people feel that Martha got a raw deal," Burnett said yesterday. "America loves comeback stories."
Stewart and her former stockbroker were convicted in March of lying to investigators about why she sold ImClone Systems Inc. stock in 2001. Stewart, who's appealing her conviction, is serving a five-month sentence at a minimum-security federal prison for women in Alderson, W.Va. She'll be released in March.
For five months after that, she will be fitted with an ankle bracelet and confined to her Bedford, N.Y., estate, but allowed to conduct business for 48 hours a week.
Her old show, "Martha Stewart Living," was put on hiatus last summer after its 11th season. The domestic diva will tread familiar territory on the yet-to-be-titled new show, including cooking, entertaining, decorating and home renovation.
Burnett said he watched several hours of outtakes from "Martha Stewart Living" and often found them more entertaining and reflective of her personality than the show itself.
Interaction with a studio audience and guests will add a new element to what she does, he added.
Judging by the celebrities who turned out at her trial to offer support — Rosie O'Donnell, Bill Cosby and Brian Dennehy — Burnett said he expected many to be willing to appear as guests.
At a news conference at Martha Stewart Living headquarters in Manhattan, the executives took pains to say they had not talked business with Stewart since her sentence started. Burnett said he and Zucker first met with her last spring.
Martha Stewart Living shares rose $1.55, or 6.8 percent, to close at $24.43 yesterday on the New York Stock Exchange — near their recent 52-week high of $25.51.
