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Lifetime's day shift

Cabler plans trio of unscripted projects

By DANIEL FRANKEL

In October, Lifetime will air a weeklong special from the star and exec producer of �Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead.�

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Lifetime is cooking up an expanded portfolio of daytime unscripted original programming, announcing one new series and two weeklong specials.

For starters, the cabler has ordered 20 episodes of "Mom's Cooking," a half-hour series premiering in December that will feature kids as they venture into their mother's kitchen to try preparing their favorite childhood dishes. Skein, which will initially feature 10 episodes shot in New York and 10 shot in Atlanta, is produced by Boy Wonder Prods. (DIY Network's "Under Construction"), with Michael Morrissey exec producing and Joe Corsano hosting.

In addition, Lifetime ordered five episodes of "Lisa Williams" (working title), bringing the eponymous medium/clairvoyant back to the network for a week of half-hour episodes starting Oct. 27. Special will be an update of Williams' earlier series, "Lisa Williams: Life Among the Dead," for the cabler, with Yann Debonne also returning as exec producer. Merv Griffin Entertainment prexy Roy Bank will oversee the project on behalf of his production company.

Also slated for a five-episode arc, the "Untitled Fat Friends Project" will showcase overweight young-adult pals as they seek to shed pounds together. Tara Sandler ("House Hunters"), Jennifer Davidson ("40 a Day"), Scott Templeton ("Design on a Dime") and Kris Curry ("The Family") will exec produce. Special is produced by Pie Town Prods.