ShareThisWhen Martha Stewart moves, she takes everything -- pots, pans, hot-glue gun -- with her.
She's packing her nationally syndicated, Emmy-winning "The Martha Stewart Show" and heading to the Hallmark Channel. The show, airing each weekday, premieres Monday at 10 a.m. EDT.
Stewart and the cable network reached a deal in which Stewart and her entertaining/decorating/cooking teams will create content for Hallmark's weekday programming block -- a whopping eight hours.
In addition to her daily show, which won an Emmy in June, the new lineup on Hallmark will include daughter Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman Hutt's show, "Whatever With Alexis and Jennifer." The Sirius-radio duo will discuss hot topics and the news in their lives.
And then there's "Mad Hungry With Lucinda Scala Quinn," hosted by Scala, an author and Martha Stewart Living editor.
In a conference call with reporters, Stewart talked about making the switch to Hallmark, her new TV products and why she thinks her daughter is one smart cookie.
Q: What prompted such a major move from network to cable?
A: The daytime-television landscape is very crowded, with the major networks and syndication at a crossroads. Oprah (Winfrey) is moving to cable, which is an indication that many of us (in the industry) want more stable time periods.
Q: This collaboration allows you to add unique programming. What's new?
A: Essentially, I'm putting in one place the lifestyle programming I've always wanted to do. That includes specials and also developing the other talent that exists in our company. We want to be the same informative show with new twists.
One segment I'm sure everyone will enjoy is something called "Date Night." It's me and two guys -- one a producer on my show, another is an MTV personality. We go out to their kind of places and my kind of places. The other night we went to Dram Bar and then to Pies 'n' Thighs (both in Brooklyn, N.Y.), where we drank and ate very well. Lots of fun.
Q: You'll be the lead-in for your daughter's show. How proud are you of her success?
A: Alexis is a giant talent. Both she and Jennifer (Koppelman Hutt) are gorgeous and unusual women who will bring comedy from the radio to TV. Alexis is an only child who was always treated as an adult. Great and horrible? We don't know for sure! But she's opinionated, accomplished and much smarter than I am in her own way.
Q: Lucinda Scala Quinn's show sounds fun. Tell us more about her.
A: Lucinda is our food editor. And she has a very interesting television personality. She's interviewed many of the top chefs and food personalities in America, and she's written a book, "Mad Hungry," which is the title of her show. It's all about getting a meal on the table for family and friends. Lucinda is a mom with three strapping sons and a husband. They eat -- a lot! So, with a time-consuming job and family, she talks about staying organized.
Q: Another one of your publications, Everyday Food, is popular with home cooks. How will that content be a part of the new lineup?
A: When I started that magazine, it was for people like you and me who need tasty, easy recipes with eight ingredients or less that can be purchased at the supermarket or farmers market.
Under (editor in chief) Anna Last, we've reached a new level of excellence. You can even get Everyday Food Apps from the Apple store for 99 cents each to help find grocery specials. In this economy, it just responds to the need to cook and entertain at home.
Q: Viewers turn to you for lots of advice. How has Hallmark allowed you to expand your expertise?
A: We just finished the Halloween special. And Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. I can't say who the guest is, but it's the perfect celebrity for the occasion. We're already working on Christmas, which will include craft ideas and cooking ideas we've never done before.
A new franchise is "Martha Stewart Presents," which debuts Sept. 19. The first one is titled "The Women Who Dress America." Four of America's top fashion designers will be on the show (Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Tory Burch and Jenna Lyons from J.Crew).
Q: What's on your DVR or TiVo?
A: Right now I'm not addicted but interested in "Mad Men" (on AMC). I like to see how accurate the depiction is of that era. And I watch "The Tudors" because I love anything that has to do with history.
(E-mail Leigh Grogan at lgrogan(at)sacbee.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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