Marissa Jaret Winokur Developing a Daytime TV Talk Show

Tony winner Marissa Jaret Winokur, currently competing on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, is headed for the couch as host of her own syndicated daytime talk show, according to Variety. Following a bidding war with other studios, Sony Pictures Television has signed the Hairspray star to a development deal in hopes of launching her show in fall 2009.

Winokur is the latest performer to benefit from the nationwide exposure of Dancing with the Stars. Several contestants have gone on to appear on Broadway, including John O'Hurley and Lisa Rinna in Chicago and Mario Lopez in the current revival of A Chorus Line. Winokur may eventually find herself competing for TV viewers with Marie Osmond, a DWTS alum who has also announced plans for a syndicated talk show.

Hairspray fans will recall that Ricki Lake, star of John Waters' original feature film, hosted a successful talk show in the wake of playing Tracy Turnblad. Lake has appeared in the audience at Dancing with the Stars several times to cheer Winokur on.

After a rather shaky start on Dancing with the Stars, the bubbly Winokur and her partner, Tony Dovolani, have turned in strong performances in the last two weeks, avoiding the dreaded "bottom two." Seven of the original 12 couples remain on the program. Winokur recently announced that she and her husband, writer Judah Miller, are expecting a baby this summer via a surrogate mother.

Variety reports that Winokur's talk show will be the first big project for Sony reality/syndication head Holly Jacobs, who joined the company in January after a run at Fox TV Studios. Jacobs previously launched Wayne Brady's talk show for Buena Vista, as well as the half-hour version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.