Showtime's "The United States of Tara," Starring Collette, Premieres Jan. 18

By Adam Hetrick
January 18, 2009

The new series "The United States of Tara," starring Tony and Academy Award nominee Toni Collette, premieres on Showtime Jan. 18.

Academy Award-winning "Juno" screenwriter Diablo Cody has written the new series in which Collette stars as Tara, a suburban housewife coping with disassociate identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. The pilot for the 12-episode half-hour series airs at 10 PM ET on the Showtime network.

Press notes for "Tara" state that Collette will inhabit an array of personalities, including "'T,' a provocative teenager who flits around in midriffs and Daisy Dukes; to 'Buck,' a beer-swilling, trucker-hat wearing Vietnam vet who is prone to violence when (easily) provoked; to 'Alice,' a 1950s Betty Crocker housewife who bakes pies in pumps with nary a meticulously hair-sprayed curl out of place."

Joining Collette are John Corbett ("Sex and the City") as Collette's sensitive husband, Rosemarie DeWitt as Collette's insecure sister, while Keir Gilchrist and Brie Larson portray the children in the family.

In addition to penning "Tara," Cody serves as executive producer on a team that includes Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Dreamworks Television, and Alexa Junge. Craig Gillespie ("Lars and the Real Girl") directed the pilot.

Collette earned a 2000 Tony nomination for her work as Queenie in Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party, which marked her Broadway debut. The 1999 hit "The Sixth Sense" garnered Collette an Academy Award nomination. Her film credits also include "Little Miss Sunshine," "Evening," "Muriel's Wedding," "Velvet Goldmine" and "Clockwatchers."

For further information visit www.sho.com.