"Viva Laughlin!" — with Hugh Jackman and Melanie Griffith — Debuts on CBS Oct. 18

By Ernio Hernandez
18 Oct 2007

Hugh Jackman in "Viva Laughlin!"
Hugh Jackman in "Viva Laughlin!"
Photo by CBS/Robert Voets

Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman guest stars in the Oct. 18 network debut of CBS' "Viva Laughlin!"

Jackman executive produces the new hour-long series based on the BBC show "Viva Blackpool." "Viva Laughlin!" airs at 10 PM (ET/PT). The show will continue in its regular time slot Sundays at 8 PM. (Check your local listings.)

"Viva Laughlin!" is billed as "a mystery drama with music about eternal optimist and freewheeling businessman Ripley Holden, whose sole ambition is to run a casino in Laughlin, Nevada." Contemporary songs are used in the series "to accentuate the drama and humor and advance the story," according to show notes. (The second episode will feature the Elton John song "I'm Still Standing" and the Knickerbockers' "Money [That's What I Want]".)

The cast features Lloyd Owen, Mδdchen Amick, Eric Winter, DB Woodside, P.J. Byrne, Ellen Woglom and Carter Jenkins. Jackman and fellow stage veteran Melanie Griffith (Chicago) both make appearances in the show as recurring characters.

For more on the series, visit cbs.com.

Jackman earned his Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz. He is also known for his film roles in the "X-Men" trilogy and "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold," "Van Helsing" and the recent "The Fountain" and "Happy Feet" (in voice). His stage credits also include Trevor Nunn's staging of Oklahoma! at Britian's National Theatre and award-winning work in productions of Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast in his homeland.