Apparently, it’s Prison Week here at The Herald TV column.
Monday, we talked about the new Fox drama “Prison Break,” which is about a guy trying to bounce his brother from his death-row cell.
Today brings a whole new kind of prison break: the kind that lands one of the most rich and famous people on Earth even more riches and fame.
If you think you’ve seen a lot of Martha Stewart since her trial and subsequent prison sentence began, that’s just the fringe of the poncho.
Stewart was released from home confinement Wednesday, just in time to let loose on our television screens this month.
Her new syndicated daily daytime show, “Martha,” premieres Sept. 12 and will be shown locally at 9 a.m. on KONG-TV, Channel 6.
Her new weekly primetime show, the long-awaited “The Apprentice: Martha Stewart,” kicks off at 8 p.m. Sept. 21 on KING-TV, Channel 5.
And the second Stewart-based TV movie starring Cybill Shepherd, “Martha Behind Bars,” airs at 9 p.m. Sept. 25 on KIRO-TV, Channel 7.
And that surely won’t be all you see of America’s favorite felon.
In fact, she said she’s working on a book, “The Martha Rules,” that will be out in October and features her 10 essentials for starting and managing a business.
“I have been so much looking forward to starting anew this September,” Stewart said in a teleconference last week. “I have a great enthusiasm for living, a great enthusiasm for the kinds of things that living brings us. All those things we’ve been writing about and talking about and doing – this is my life and this is a really great way to spend time.”
Apparently five months in a federal prison wasn’t such a terrible way to spend time, either.
At 64, it was quite possibly her best career move. And while prison time generally tends to make people harder, it seems to have softened the reputedly angry woman.
Once generally known for being incredibly strict and generally pretty sour, Stewart is projecting a fun-loving, easy-going aura that will likely surprise many people. The opening sequence of her daytime show includes the now iconic footage of her in front of a federal courthouse in New York.
“That’s reality, it’s accessibility. People are used to seeing me like that for the last year, I think,” Stewart said. “To avoid it is avoidance. We’re not going to avoid things.”
The daytime show will bring in celebrity guests to share their hobbies and interests. Stewart insists it won’t be your typical daytime show.
“I don’t see a couch anywhere,” she said. “We’re not going to be sitting a lot, we’re going to be doing a lot.
“What I want are guests that are going to show us what they do when they are not being celebrities, what are they doing on their time off, their hobbies, their talents, their incredible accomplishments other than the things we know them for.”
Her “Apprentice” show, of course, is patterned after Donald Trump’s three-season-long reality show on NBC. The winner of the 16 finalists will earn a spot with the Martha Stewart Living company.
But Stewart and creator Mark Burnett are mum on what her “You’re fired”-esque catch phrase will be.
“I really don’t like firing people,” Stewart said. “I don’t think I’ve ever said, ‘You’re fired,’ to anybody.”
“It depends on the situation,” Burnett said in the same teleconference. “Some people, Martha felt very sad to let go. Others very much deserved it, and her demeanor reflected that. But there’s a wonderful commonality at the end of every show – which Martha came up with, not me. It’s a totally fresh look, and something you will definitely remember.”
With as much as we’ll be seeing Stewart’s face around in the coming days, how could we ever forget?
Victor Balta’s column runs Mondays and Thursdays on the A&E page. Reach him at 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
Associated Press
Martha Stewart this month kicks off two new TV shows.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
