Molly Ringwald In 'The Big Time'

(CBS)  She may be best remembered for her earlier roles in movies like "Sixteen Candles" and "Pretty in Pink," but she's currently starring in a new TV movie for TNT called "The Big Time."

Actress Molly Ringwald tells The Early Show her new movie is about the beginning of the television age.

"To me it's a little bit like the early days of the Internet. Because I grew up with television, I never knew a time when there wasn't one. So it's one of those things that I never even took for granted. I wasn't even particularly excited about it.

"As opposed to the Internet, when that happened, it was, like, what is this going to be? How are we going to deal with this and incorporate this into our lives? That's what television was like then. It was really interesting to find out about it," said Ringwald.

"The Big Time" takes viewers to the era when radio was still king, but losing ground to television. Empire Television is a fledgling network that tries to make the new medium work. Ringwald's character, Marion Powers, finds herself becoming a partner of the network when her husband dies. The film chronicles the many humorous mistakes made as the network grows.

Ringwald's next project will take her back to the Great White Way. This fall, she revisits her role as Sally Bowles in the musical "Cabaret."

Facts About Molly Ringwald

• Ringwald worked in the syndicated "The New Mickey Mouse Club" in 1977 and NBC series "The Facts of Life", in which she appeared in 1979-80 before being dropped from the cast
  
• Ringwald started her film career at age 13, starring with John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands in Paul Mazursky's 1982 version of "Tempest"
  
• Her early film credits include "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty In Pink," "The Pick-Up Artist," "Fresh Horses" and "Betsy's Wedding"
  
• In 1986, Ringwald appeared on the cover of Time magazine
  
• In 1992, Ringwald decided to take a leave from Hollywood and moved to Paris
  
• Movies she made in France include "Seven Sundays," Jean-Luc Goddard's "King Lear" and "Enfants de Salaud"
  
• Ringwald's television credits include the series "Townies," the highly-rated miniseries "The Stand" and TV movies "The Alison Gertz Story" and "Women and Men: Stories of Seduction"