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Exclusive: Patricia “Ms. Pat” Williams (The Ms. Pat Show) is taking on the role of TV judge in the upcoming new series Ms. Pat Settles It, premiering October 18 at 10 p.m. Et/Pt to air on BET. Deadline has your first look at the trailer above.

In Season 1, Williams assembles a jury of her closest friends, family members and guest stars to tackle real cases where genuine relationships hang in the balance. While she has no legal degree, she brings to the table candid, humorous and heartfelt judgments every time, according to the show’s logline.

The cases revolve around family and relationship dynamics involving everyday people who willingly accept the show’s verdict as binding. Fans can expect to see more of what they’ve come to love from Williams, moments of intense drama and uproarious comedy mirrored from her own life experiences.

The “Jury of Her Peers” will...

Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 6: “Flowers for Kim”

Written by Jon Ross

Directed by Andrew D. Weyman

Aired on July 17th, 2006 on HBO

Throughout Lucky Louie’s prior episodes, the show has struggled to toe the line between using a dated style to express contemporary ideas and genuinely espousing a retrograde attitude. Although some moments, like Rich’s misogynistic jokes, have at least had the awareness not to directly align the viewer with the sentiments being conveyed, others, like the racist caricature in “A Mugging Story,” have seemed flat-out backwards. Louis C.K.’s conception for the show doesn’t seem inherently misguided, but the missteps of the early episodes have made the approach feel questionable.

It’s refreshing then, to see a half hour which finally works as C.K. intends. From the beginning of the cold open, writer Jon Ross puts the freedom from censorship allowed by HBO to good use,...

Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot”

Written by Louis C.K.

Directed by Gary Halvorson

Aired on June 11, 2006 on HBO

Louis C.K.’s current series, Louie, is unlike anything on T.V. The show’s cinematic style, unpredictability, and the way it remains difficult to define make it a unique outlier in the T.V. landscape, even in a world with shows as idiosyncratic as Transparent and Girls. In that context, the first series he created, Lucky Louie, almost seems like the work of a different writer: it’s presented in the style of classic sitcoms like The Honeymooners, and its multi-cam set-up was filmed in front of a live audience.

Despite its traditional appearance, Lucky Louie tackles topics and uses language which would be unthinkable in the shows it’s inspired by, which can be seen through much of its first episode. It starts with the “Why?” gag of the cold open,...

"Rosa" is now well on its way to getting the big-screen treatment, now that Twentieth Century Fox has found a writer for the project. Will Dunn, who you most likely have never heard of, is set to become one of the hottest new writers in the genre. His project, "Ion," was optioned by Ridley Scott's Scott Free production shingle. While that project sits in pre-production, it already has actors like Sammi Hanratty ("Pushing Daisies"), Kelly Gould ("The Ghost Whisperer") and Madison Leisle ("The Walking Dead") involved. In that film, a man -- reportedly played by "Magic Mike's" Channing Tatum -- is desperate to find his reincarnated lover, and travels to other planets and dimensions in search of her. But "Rosa" will be something much different. "Rosa" is currently a post-apocalyptic ...

Over the years sketch comedy shows, the likes of SNL and MADtv, have proved themselves a spawning ground for gifted young writers and comedians, often serving as a launch pad for successful solo careers on both the small and the big screen. Yet it's a testament to the differing quality between those two shows that the likes of Steve Carell and Tina Fey have risen to such dizzying television heights as The Office and 30 Rock, Nicole Sullivan, arguably MADtv's most successful alumni finds herself fronting shows on The Lifetime Network in relative anonymity.

The story of one under appreciated wife and mother, Rita Rocks is something of role-reversal King of Queens, which is ironic considering Sullivan had a six-year recurring stint as a neurotic friend of the Heffernans. Here the husband, Jay (Richard Ruccolo), is the buttoned down one and Sullivan's Rita the scatterbrain. Stuck in a dead-end job,...

Lifetime has decided to cancel their original sitcom, Rita Rocks, after two seasons.

Rita Rocks revolves around an overworked wife and mother who tries to balance the many different aspects of her life, including being in a local rock band. The series stars Nicole Sullivan in the title role with Richard Ruccolo, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Natalie Dreyfuss, Kelly Gould, and Raviv Ullman rounding out the cast.

The show was initially ordered as a companion for reruns of Reba with an eye towards amassing enough episodes to run it five nights a week.

The series debuted in October of 2008 with a 20 episode season. In March 2009, Rita Rocks was renewed for a second season of 20 more installments.

  JoAnn Alfano, executive VP for entertainment at Lifetime, said, "Rita Rocks is the first original comedy that Lifetime...

Lifetime has given a full-season pickup to "Rita Rocks."

The network has ordered seven additional episodes of the comedy series from Media Rights Capital, bringing the first-season order to 20.

"Rita," starring Nicole Sullivan as a wife and mother who forms a garage band, premiered Oct. 20, airing as a strip for a week before moving into its regular time slot at 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays. The series, which marks Lifetime's first original comedy in 10 years, is averaging 956,000 viewers per first-run episode.

" 'Rita Rocks' was developed as a companion to Lifetime's most popular comedy, 'Reba,' and 'Rita Rocks' has either built on or held the 'Reba' audience for five of the first six original episodes," Lifetime executive vp entertainment JoAnn Alfano said. "Having a nearly 100% audience retention rate is unheard of when launching a new comedy, but 'Rita Rocks' has achieved that feat."

"Rita" also stars Richard Ruccolo,...

Lifetime has yet another treat for comedy fans out there. The network recently picked up its first original comedy in a decade. Created and executively produced by Stan Zimmerman and Jim Berg, Rita Rocks is set to hit Lifetime in the fall, with 13 episodes ordered by the network, to be produced by Media Rights Capital. Lifetime has paired Rita Rocks with their off-net run of Reba in a one-hour block that promises laughter and fun.

Raines star Nicole Sullivan is set to star as Rita, a woman whose unfulfilled life as a married, working mother who rediscovers her spunk when she becomes a musician in a garage band. Co-starring in the comedy offering are Richard Ruccolo, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Kelly Gould and Raviv Ullman.

Network executives are looking forward to welcoming the new show, especially following the success of Army Wives.

"Viewers tell us that they love our comedies,...

Lifetime has picked up half-hour comedy "Rita Rocks" to series.

The cable network ordered 13 episodes of the sitcom, from Media Rights Capital, for a fall premiere.

"Rita" stars Nicole Sullivan as Rita Clements, who, unfulfilled by her harried life as a married, working mom, regains her identity by re-creating her glory days as a musician in a garage band. Richard Ruccolo, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Kelly Gould and Raviv Ullman also star.

"Rita", which will air as part of a one-hour comedy block alongside off-net sitcom "Reba", marks Lifetime's first new original primetime comedy series since "Maggie" and "Oh Baby" debuted in 1998. "Maggie" ended its run in 1999, and "Baby" bowed out the following year. (Other recent comedy efforts, including "Lovespring International", aired outside of primetime.)

"Our loyal viewers are fans of our comedy programming, and we know they will think Rita rocks too," Lifetime president of entertainment Susanne Daniels said.

Stan Zimmerman and Jim Berg, Jeffrey Hodes and Nastaran Dibai are executive producers. Franco E. Bario produces.