Both titles have been completed – "Vinegar Hill" in 2005 and "Sybil" in 2007 – but were shelved due to executive leadership changes at CBS. Variety reports that CBS has rushed the airdates on the dust-collecting movies, with rights on both projects set to expire shortly.
"Vinegar Hill," starring Mary-Louise Parker and Tom Skerritt, will be the first to air on May 24. Based on the novel by A. Manette Ansay, the movie centers on a schoolteacher (Parker) and her husband (Skerritt), who move in with his dysfunctional parents when the family falls on hard times. Tony Award-winning actress Betty Buckley will portray Skerritt's mother.
On June 7, Lange and Blanchard take to the Saturday-night slot in the remake of "Sybil." The 1976 version starred Sally Field and Joanne Woodward in the tale of a young woman seeking to overcome a personality disorder that resulted from an abusive childhood.
Lange is a two-time Academy Award winner for "Blue Sky" and "Tootsie." She has appeared on Broadway in the revivals of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie.
Tammy Blanchard was seen on Broadway in the title role of the 2003 revival of Gypsy starring Bernadette Peters. Her screen credits include "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," "The Good Shepherd" and "We Were the Mulvaneys." Parker most recently starred in the Off-Broadway production of Dead Man's Cell Phone. A Tony winner for Proof, she has appeared in the Broadway productions of Reckless, Bus Stop and Prelude to a Kiss. She can currently be seen in the Showtime series "Weeds."
Betty Buckley is a 1983 Tony Award winner for Cats. On Broadway, Buckley is known for her roles in 1776, Pippin, Song & Dance, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Carrie, Sunset Boulevard and Triumph of Love. Screen appearances include "Eight Is Enough," "Carrie," "Oz," "Remember WENN," and M. Night Shyamalan's forthcoming film "The Happening."
Skerritt appears in the John Robin Baitz series "Brothers & Sisters." His screen credits include "The Other Sister," "Contact," "Picket Fences," "Steel Magnolias" and "Alien."
