Rise and Shine

Based on the novel by Anna Quindlen
Development: Fox Searchlight

Meghan is America’s sweetheart, host of the famous morning show, “Rise and Shine.” Bridget is a social worker in a women’s shelter in the Bronx. The Fitzmaurice sisters, accomplished women in their forties, are best friends — although their salaries, experiences, and private lives couldn’t be farther apart. When their worlds strangely collide, the true bond of family is tested in the face of loss.

Based on the best-selling novel by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Anna Quindlen, "Rise and Shine" follows the story of Bridget and Meghan Fitzmaurice who have been incredibly close ever since they were orphaned as little girls. Now in their forties, they both live in New York City but, in spite of their closeness, the worlds they inhabit couldn’t be more different. Meghan, 47, hosts Rise and Shine, America’s number one morning show. She makes $10 million a year and is probably the most famous woman on television. She travels the world for stories, and lives in New York dining with the rich and famous, while her husband Evan works on Wall Street and their son Leo attends Amherst College.

Opting for more grit than glamour in her life, Bridget, 43, works in social services as the director of a Bronx shelter for battered and drug addicted women, averting crises daily. Her passion for giving other people hope is stronger than her desire to be famous or make a lot of money, and she’s incredibly self-possessed without realizing it. She dates a salty 67-year-old cop, Irving, who is no-nonsense but loveable and old-fashioned. What follows is a story in the realms of spectacle vs. reality, of how the sisters adapt, survive, and manage to bring the whole teeming world of New York to heel by dint of their smart mouths, quick wits, and the powerful connection between them that even the worst tragedy cannot shatter.

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