ABC TO AIR THE NETWORK TELEVISION PREMIERE OF THE LIGHT-HEARTED ROMANTIC COMEDY, "SWEET HOME ALABAMA," THURSDAY, MAY 5

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, Josh Lucas and Candice Bergen, Feature Will Air in HDTV with 5.1-Channel Surround Sound and Spanish Audio

Come on home to ABC this April with the network television premiere of the engaging romantic comedy, "Sweet Home Alabama," airing as the "ABC Thursday Movie of the Week," THURSDAY, MAY 5 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Editors please note: This film had been scheduled to air on April 28 but was preempted by coverage of the presidential news conference.

She's got the job and the man of her dreams, but still, something is missing... Melanie Smooter, also known throughout Manhattan as Melanie Carmichael, is an up and coming New York fashion designer who has recently become engaged to the city's most eligible bachelor -- the Mayor's son. But there's one little catch - she's already married. Before she can say "I do" again, Melanie has to return to her hometown in Alabama to officially divorce the husband she left behind there. Once "home," old emotions are stirred up, as Melanie is caught between the new life she's built for herself and the old one she so desperately wanted to escape.

Starring in "Sweet Home Alabama" are Reese Witherspoon ("Legally Blonde," "Vanity Fair") as Melanie Smooter, aka Melanie Carmichael, Patrick Dempsey (TV's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lucky 7") as Andrew Hennings, Josh Lucas ("Around the Bend," "Hulk") as Jake Perry, Candice Bergen (TV's "Boston Legal," "The In-Laws") as Mayor Kate Hennings, Fred Ward ("Enough," "Corky Romano") as Earl Smooter, Jean Smart ("I Heart Huckabees," "Bringing Down the House") as Stella Kay, Ethan Embry ("Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle," TV's "Dragnet") as Bobby Ray and Rhona Mitra (TV's "Boston Legal" and "The Practice") as Tabatha Wadmore-Smith.

"Sweet Home Alabama" was directed by Andy Tennant ("Hitch," "Anna and the King"). The screenplay was written by C. Jay Cox ("Latter Days," "Reason Thirteen"), with writing credits for the story given to Douglas J. Eboch ("The 24 Year-Old Virgin," "Party at Sam's"). Presented by D&D Films, Original Film, Pigeon Creek Films and Touchstone Pictures. Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures.

"SWEET HOME ALABAMA" IN HDTV:
The ABC Television Network's HDTV broadcast of "Sweet Home Alabama" will air in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format and 5.1-channel surround sound and with Spanish audio. This film carries a TV-PG,L parental guideline.