Contessa

Contessa is a New Cambrian sitcom, created and written by James D. Rankin, who also serves as the show's director. It deals with the daily life of an aging ex-soap opera actress who learns how quickly her fame disappears after she is unexpectedly fired from her show. An initial 13-episode series was commissioned by New Cambria Television following the approval of the show's audition program. The original main cast consisted of Margaret Howe, Kyle Mason, John Wall, Janna Weaver and Stacey Clyde. Wall and Clyde left the programme after the second series, with Jake Collins promoted from a recurring role to the main cast in series three.

Garnering mediocre-to-good ratings for NCT One in its original Monday night timeslot, a second series of seven episodes was commissioned in 2007, which was expanded into a full 14-episode order shortly thereafter. One of New Cambria's few home-grown situation comedies, Contessa did not become popular with viewers until midway through its second series, after which it continually ranked as one of NCT One's most popular original programmes. Spin magazine attributed the rise in Contessa's popularity to its timeslot move from Monday nights to Tuesdays, directly following American sitcom import Scrubs.