New CBS Series "The Class" to Premiere Monday September 18th  9/8/06

ANDREA ANDERS, JON BERNTHAL, LIZZY CAPLAN, JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, HEATHER GOLDENHERSH, JULIE HALSTON, SAM HARRIS, DAVID KEITH, SEAN MAGUIRE, LUCY PUNCH AND JASON RITTER STAR IN "THE CLASS," A NEW COMEDY ABOUT A GROUP OF TWENTY-SOMETHINGS WHO ARE INEXTRICABLY BOUND TOGETHER BY SHARING THE SAME THIRD GRADE CLASS, PREMIERING ON MONDAY, SEPT. 18 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

"Pilot" -- Andrea Anders, Jon Bernthal, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Heather Goldenhersh, Julie Halston, Sam Harris, David Keith, Sean Maguire, Lucy Punch and Jason Ritter star in THE CLASS, a new comedy about a group of twenty-somethings who are inextricably bound together by sharing the same third grade class, premiering on Monday, Sept. 18 (8:00-8:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. James Burrows, one of the series' executive producers, directed the episode written by the series' creators and executive producers David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik.

The classmates include Ethan Haas (Jason Ritter), a caring, upbeat, thoughtful pediatrician who constantly puts others first. Lina Warbler (Heather Goldenhersh) is a sweet, vulnerable and relentlessly optimistic young woman who works as an office drone and was recently dumped by her boyfriend. She has hope in her heart that things will work out fine, despite the fact they never seem to work out at all. Kat Warbler (Lizzy Caplan) is her cynical twin sister who finds Lina's optimism painfully annoying, but her sarcastic tongue hides her kind heart. She channels some of her rage into her photography and her hobbies, which include watching other people suffer, verbally judging those around her and hiking. 

Richie Velch (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) grew up as a quiet, socially-awkward child with red hair and an affinity for science. Throughout his time in school, he was frequently seen with the cool kids, but only when they were beating him up. Despite his best attempts, things haven't gone his way and his life has gone progressively downhill since third grade.

Kyle Lendo (Sean Maguire) is a teacher at the prestigious Pennbridge Academy. In high school, every girl had a crush on him and he now has a wonderful relationship with his partner, Aaron (Cristián de la Fuente). Holly Ellenbogen (Lucy Punch) was a chubby, high strung, energetic girl with dreams of finding her perfect Prince Charming. In high school, she enthusiastically dated Kyle, but that ended abruptly one night when he broke her heart by cheating on her at the high school prom with his Prince Charming. In college she met her husband-to-be, Perry Pearl (Sam Harris). She now enjoys an idyllic life as the on-the-scene reporter for News 9, Philadelphia's number two television news; lives in the suburbs with Perry and their 5-year-old daughter, Oprah, and can't wait to show Kyle how happy and successful she's become. 

Duncan Carmello (Jon Bernthal) was always a well-liked guy in school. He is now working in construction and on weekends can be found playing with his band Car Fire. He loves sports and has a pretty active social life for a guy who still lives at home with his mom, Tina, with whom he constantly bickers. Duncan dated Nicole (Andrea Anders) in high school and still sees losing her as the biggest mistake of his life. Nicole Allen was the pretty, popular girl in school and is now the unfulfilled third trophy wife of legendary hall of fame football star/BBQ-grill spokesman Yonk Allen (David Keith).

In the premiere episode, Ethan Haas is head-over-heels in love with his girlfriend, for whom he has planned the ultimate surprise engagement party -- a reunion with the third grade class of Philadelphia's Woodman Elementary School to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the day they met. The party brings an eclectic group of old friends, former couples and acquaintances together and, although the outcome is far from what Ethan expected, the group has an opportunity to reconnect after two decades, mend old wounds and develop new friendships.

Andrea Anders is best known to television audiences for her role as Alex Garrett in the comedy "Joey." Her other television credits include roles in "Law & Order" "Tru Calling," "Oz," "One Life to Live" and "Guiding Light," on the Network. She also appeared in the feature film "The Stepford Wives."

Jon Bernthal's television credits include roles in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Boston Legal," "Johnny Zero," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and the movie "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman." He also appeared as a guest star in "How I Met Your Mother," "Without A Trace" and "CSI: Miami," all on the Network. He appeared in the feature films "Mary/Mary," "Tony 'n' Tina's Wedding" and "World Trade Center" directed by Oliver Stone. His upcoming films include "Day Zero," "Bar Starz" and "The Air I Breathe."

Lizzy Caplan's television credits include "Related," "Tru Calling," "Smallville," "Once and Again," "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared." She also starred in the MTV movie "Everybody's Doing It" and has done voice work for the animated series "Family Guy" and "American Dad." She is best known to audiences for her role in the feature film "Mean Girls." Her additional credits include roles in "Orange County," "Hardcore Action News" and the upcoming independent films "Love Is The Drug" and "Crashing."

Jesse Tyler Ferguson's television credits include roles in the British series "Absolutely Fabulous" and the movie "Sally Hemings: An American Scandal," on the Network. He appeared in the feature film "Mercury in Retrograde" and the independent films "Ordinary Sinner" and "Griffin and the Phoenix." Ferguson has had a memorable career on the stage with credits that include the Tony Award nominated musical "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and George C. Wolfe's revival of "On The Town." He appeared in the Off-Broadway productions of "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told," "Newyorkers," "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare," "Little Fish" and "Hair," directed by Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.

Heather Goldenhersh's television credits include roles in the movies "The Great Gatsby" and "Tempting Adam." Her feature film credits include "Kinsey," "The Merchant of Venice," "Nicholas Nickleby," and the upcoming "The Pleasure of Your Company." Goldenhersh appeared in John Patrick Shanley's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Doubt," and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her role as "Sister James." She was also nominated for an Outer Critics' Circle Award and won the 2005 Theatre World Award for the part.

Julie Halston's television credits include notable roles in "Sex and the City," where she played the character of "Bitsy von Muffling," "Law & Order," "My So-Called Life" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." She appeared in the feature films "A Very Serious Person," "The Juror," "Addams Family Values," "Joe Gould's Secret," "Drunks," and the Woody Allen films "Small Time Crooks," and "Celebrity." Halston is a veteran of the stage with credits that include the Broadway revivals of "The Women," "Twentieth Century" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner," the 2003 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, "Hairspray," the Tony Award nominee for Best Revival of a Musical, "Gypsy," and "White Chocolate" and "Red Scare on Sunset," both of which garnered her Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. Halston is also a comedienne, winning four MAC awards for her solo comedy performances.

Sam Harris' diverse career has run the gamut from singer/songwriter to director, writer and producer, as well as being an actor on Broadway, film and television. Harris' career began as the grand champion of "Star Search" in its premiere season. On Broadway, he received a Drama Desk nomination for his role in Tommy Tune's "Grease" and a Drama League Award as well as Tony, Outer Critic's Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations for his work in Cy Coleman's Tony-nominated musical "The Life." He's also appeared on Broadway in Mel Brooks' Tony Award-winning musical, "The Producers," in the national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," and in the musicals "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Cabaret," "Hair" and "Pippin." He also starred in the self-penned shows "Hard Copy," "Different Hats," "Revival" and his critically acclaimed one man show, "SAM." Harris is a multi-million album selling recording artist with nine studio albums to his credit. He can also be heard on numerous concert, guest artist and cast recordings.

David Keith is best known to audiences for his role in the feature film "An Officer and a Gentleman," for which he received two Golden Globe Award nominations and the ShoWest Award for Male Star of Tomorrow. His film credits include "Daredevil," "U-571," "Behind Enemy Lines," "Men of Honor," "Major League II," "Raise Your Voice," "The Two Jakes," "The Indian in the Cupboard" and the upcoming "Bottom's Up." His television credits include "Arli$$," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Still Life," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "High Incident," "The Outer Limits," and "NCIS," "Martial Law" and "Walker, Texas Ranger," all on the Network.

Sean Maguire began acting at the age of 5 in the award-winning television movie "A Voyage Round My Father" with Sir Lawrence Olivier. He went on to television fame in the United Kingdom in the hit series "Grange Hill," followed by "Dangerfield" and the successful long-running series "EastEnders." In the U.S., he was cast in the title role in the television movie "Prince Charming" as well as roles in the series "Off Centre" and "Eve." His feature film credits include Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life," "Waterland," "The Dukes," "Out of Depth," "The Third Wish" and the upcoming independent feature, "L.A. Blues."

Lucy Punch's television credits include roles in the British series "Days Like These," "Big Bad World," "Let Them Eat Cake," "People Like Us," "Midsomer Murders," "My Family" and "Doc Martin." She has also appeared on American television in "Dinotopia: The Series," "Poirot," and the movies "Cinderella," "The 10th Kingdom," "Come Together," "Second Nature" and the Golden Globe winner and Emmy-nominated "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers." Her feature film credits include "Being Julia," "Ella Enchanted," "It's Not You, It's Me," "Greenfingers" and "Festival," a BAFTA Award nominee, as well as the upcoming "Hot Fuzz" and "Are You Ready For Love." She was also chosen as the British Shooting Star at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival.

Jason Ritter is best known to television audiences for his role as Kevin Girardi in the CBS drama "Joan of Arcadia." His other television credits include guest-starring roles in "Hack," also on CBS, "Law & Order" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," as well as a role in the movie "The Dreamer of Oz." His feature film credits include "Mumford," "Happy Endings" and "Freddy vs. Jason." His upcoming films include "Our Very Own," "The Education of Charlie Banks" and "Lenexa, 1 Mile." His theater credits include Wendy Wasserstein's "Third" at Lincoln Center, for which he won the Clarence Derwent Award and the Martin E. Segal Award for his portrayal of the title character, the Off-Broadway production of "The Beginning of August," and the role of Tim in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's play "The Distance From Here" at London's Almeida Theatre.

THE CLASS is produced by craneklarik productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik and James Burrows are the executive producers.

Source: CBS Press Release