On this day in 2003, Martha Inc. starring Cybill Shepherd as Martha Stewart premiered on NBC.
Based on Christopher Byron’s unauthorized tome of the same name, the primetime drama chronicled the beleaguered domestic goddess’ rise and fall as she faced a criminal investigation over shady stock trades. Shepherd was cast on the suggestion of network star Matt Lauer, who also suggested fellow '70s babe Candice Bergen for the part. Shepherd, who’d once met Stewart at a TV programmers’ conference (“I remember thinking at the time, ‘Boy, I’d love to play her.’”), personally lobbied for the role. “I wanted the role so badly because it was the part of a lifetime,” she told Newsweek. “This woman is one of the most fascinating, contradictory characters and powerful people that have been in front of the public in a very long time.”
The casting process was a long one. Remembered Shepherd, “I thought I’d never get the part, because the minute my manager calls NBC they say, 'Oh, we don’t even have a script and it’s mostly about her as a young woman.’ And I thought, 'Oh well, that’s a big fat lie. That just means I’m never going to get the part.’ But it took on a life of its own. People kept calling me and saying, 'People are saying you’re doing it.’ And it was written about in columns. And they did some kind of survey on the Internet asking people who they wanted most, and it was me. Then I did the cover of More magazine. And in that, I said I thought I was the best person in the world to play the part. The director, Jason Ensler, saw that and knew my work and he believed it as well. And he fought for me to play the part. The last time somebody had to really do that was Peter [Bogdanovich]. Burt Schneider, the producer, did not want me. He didn’t think I had the experience to do it. Finally, he gave in and said, 'OK, you can put her in the movie, just make sure there’s plenty of nudity.’”
Of her casting as Stewart, Shepherd also fended off any comparisons to herself, saying at the time, “I’m not like Martha, but that’s what everyone thinks - that I’m this raging, belittling person to work with, which I’m not.” (No comment.) “I have great compassion for Martha,” Shepherd also told Newsday ahead of the telefim’s premiere, “and had rage problems on Moonlighting myself, but went through 10 years of therapy to deal with that. There’s a loneliness at the top [and] you always pay for everything you get. I could really identify with her." To prep for the role, which Shepherd likened to both Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth, the actress resumed her trademark fits of rage, "I said, 'Look, I’m going to scream at you a little bit because I’m trying out what it feels like to be Martha Stewart.” Shepherd later reprised her turn as Stewart for a 2005 sequel, Martha Behind Bars, covering Stewart’s trial and stint in a West Virginia penitentiary. The follow-up, which depicted Stewart sneaking baking supplies as prison contraband, was picked up by rival network CBS, as by then NBC had signed a deal with Stewart to take the reigns of a spin-off of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice, along with a reboot of Stewart’s daytime show.
Stewart, who was indicted on criminal charges just weeks after Martha Inc. aired, was none too pleased with Shepherd’s portrayal, missing no chance to slam the actress in the years since, sharing in her animosity with Shepherd’s former co-star and punching bag, Christine Baranski, and the actress’ ex-lover Charles Grodin in 2009 (hearing of Grodin’s extramarital affair with Shepherd, Stewart teased, “That was a mistake!”). In 2018, the divas came to a head at Bruce Willis’ Comedy Central Roast, seemingly making good-natured fun of their longtime rift, though avoiding each other backstage. Before the encounter, Stewart purportedly remarked during a public appearance that she 'hated’ Shepherd. “I’m just waiting for my thank you note from her,” the actress told Andy Cohen later that year. “I’m not gonna hold my breath."
Today, Shepherd remembers her turn as Stewart as a career high. "That had to be one of my happiest experiences of my career,” the star remarked in a 2013 interview, a praise she’d once reserved for Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Pondering a future to her Stewart character, Shepherd also revealed in 2005, “Absolutely. I could do ’Martha the Musical.’ I’m thinking about that.” And a showdown with Stewart isn’t out of the cards, either. “Remember those claymation Celebrity Deathmatch fights?” Shepherd joked to TV Guide in 2008. “It would have been funny to see Martha and me in one, right?” In 2020, Shepherd, who also portrayed disgraced domestic guru Paula Deen on Law & Order, was briefly attached to play an “icy, enigmatic founder and CEO of a popular home shopping network” in the Showtime series I Love That For You.
Sound familiar?
You can watch Martha Inc. in its entirety here, and the sequel here.