CMT has launched a new division, CMT Original Movies, to create made-for-television movies, the station announced on Tuesday. The new division will primarily focus on romantic comedies and music-based films, according to CMT.
The newly created division has already slated two movies, for broadcast later in the summer. The first, "To the Mat," will star former "NYPD Blue" actor Rick Schroder and "How I Met Your Mother" actress Laura Bell Bundy. "To the Mat" will feature Schroder as an easygoing wrestler and Bell Bundy as a high-strung Wall Street consultant who helps Schroder's struggling wrestling school. The movie, which was written by "Sweet Home Alabama" writer C. Jay Cox, will air on CMT in August.
"Reel Love," meanwhile, will star singer-actress LeAnn Rimes as a big-city woman who returns to her small-town origins. The movie will begin production next month, with Brian K. Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond") in the director's chair, for a September premiere.
