PREMIERE

ON HIS 40TH BIRTHDAY, BEN DONOVAN IS DETERMINED TO START ANEW, ON THE PREMIERE OF ABC'S "MR. SUNSHINE," WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9

Matthew Perry stars as Ben Donovan, a self-involved manager of a San Diego sports arena, the Sunshine Center, where curious mishaps and bizarre requests are nothing more than ordinary, on the Premiere of the new comedy "Mr. Sunshine," WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 (9:31-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Working alongside Ben are his boss and arena owner Crystal, attractive, powerful and highly erratic; Alice, the cute, tomboyish marketing director and Ben's friend with benefits; Alonzo, a former basketball player, handsome and unbelievably happy; Ben's assistant, Heather, pretty, sweet, but terrifying because she once lit a boyfriend on fire; Crystal's son, Roman, sweet-faced, clueless and Ben's newest employee; and a hapless operations crew whom Ben refers to collectively as the "Steves."

"Pilot" -- On what would have been just a typical day at work -- trying to get rid of a hockey rink that won't melt so the circus can go on that night, looking for an elephant lost in the building and arranging an impromptu press conference to repair one of his boss's PR nightmares -- Alice ends her casual relationship with Ben to commit to another man. This happens on Ben's 40th birthday, just as he's realizing he doesn't want to be alone.

"Mr. Sunshine" stars Matthew Perry as Ben, Allison Janney as Crystal, Andrea Anders as Alice, James Lesure as Alonzo and Nate Torrence as Roman. (Cast bios are available on the show page at www.abcmedianet.com)

Portia Doubleday guest stars as Heather.

"Pilot" was written by Matthew Perry, Alex Barnow and Marc Firek and was directed by Thomas Schlamme.

Matthew Perry, Alex Barnow, Marc Firek, Matthew Carlson, Jamie Tarses and Thomas Schlamme are executive producers. "Mr. Sunshine" is an Anhedonia Productions, Shoe Money Production, Barnow and Firek Production and FanFare Production, in association with Sony Pictures Television.

"Mr. Sunshine" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-PG,D,L parental guideline.

For more information on "Mr. Sunshine," visit ABC.com.