The Starter Wife
The Starter Wife title card
Genre	Comedy / Drama
Running time	6:00 hours
Creator	Gigi Levangie
Written by	Gigi Levangie (novel) Josann McGibbon & Sara Parriott (screenplay)
Directed by	Jon Avnet
Produced by	Jon Avnet Stephanie Davis Howard Klein Gigi Levangie Josann McGibbon Sara Parriott
Starring	Debra Messing Judy Davis Miranda Otto
Country of origin	United States
Original channel	USA Network
Original run	May 31, 2007 –
No. of episodes	6
Official website
IMDb profile

The Starter Wife is a 2007 USA Network television miniseries, based on the novel of the same name by Gigi Levangie Grazer. Its title is derived from the concept of a starter marriage. Filmed over four months in Queensland, Australia,^{[citation needed]} the plot focuses on Molly Kagan (Debra Messing) who, after years of marriage to a Hollywood film mogul, is forced to redefine herself and her role in society when he leaves her for a younger woman.

The mini-series premiered with a two-hour presentation on May 31, 2007 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The premiere attracted 5.4 million viewers, with 2.8 million of them being adults aged 25-54 (the network's target demographic). Ratings steadily decreased as the series progressed.

A number of pre-release teaser commercials aired on the USA network and its website. The teasers featured the songs "Golden" by Jill Scott and "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson. The series is available for purchase on iTunes (to American customers only) and was available for DVD purchase starting September 11, 2007.

The series was nominated for ten Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Debra Messing), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie (Joe Mantegna) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie (Judy Davis). Davis was the sole winner.

Messing was nominated for a 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or a TV Movie and a 2008 SAG Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Miniseries of TV Movie. Both awards were won by Queen Latifah for her role in Life Support

Although it initially was intended to be only a six-part miniseries, it was reported that USA renewed The Starter Wife as a regular series ^[1]. Production on the series initial season, consisting of ten episodes was delayed due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike but will now air in October of 2008.