Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Army Wives star Sally Pressman is moving on from the Lifetime drama series after its upcoming sixth season. Pressman has signed a talent holding deal with NBC. Under the pact, the broadcast network will cast the actress in a project it has in development for next fall or have her join an on-air series. Like the rest of the Army Wives cast, Pressman is set to return to the set of the series next month to begin filming the sixth season. But the lead actresses have no deals beyond Season 6, and there have not been any overtures yet from the network or producing studio ABC Studios, making the women available to take other series regular jobs. Fellow Army Wives star Catherine Bell last month signed on to headline the TNT movie Good Morning, Killer which is being eyed as potential backdoor pilot, so Bell has a series option behind it while also exploring possibilities on the broadcast side, where she made her mark as the star of CBS’ JAG. Lifetime has not announced its plans for Army Wives beyond Season 6. Given the soft showing of the network’s new scripted series, leaving Army Wives and Drop Dead Diva as Lifetime’s strongest dramas, the net might try to extend Army Wives‘ run for another season with generous offers to the actresses. However, given that Lifetime went through lengthy and difficult license fee negotiations with ABC Studios the last couple of times as the series is getting more expensive and that cast members have no deals and are free to explore other opportunities, bringing the show back with its entire core cast intact might be difficult. (Also complicating things is the bizarre recent behavior by star Kim Delaney.) As for a spinoff, the network tried that once in the past, and it didn’t work. In addition to playing the feisty Roxy LeBlanc on Army Wives, Pressman, repped by UTA and Principal Entertainment, has done guest spots on CBS’ The New Adventures of Old Christine and Criminal Minds and ABC’s upcoming comedy Man Up!.

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