A little while ago we reported on a number of female oriented sitcoms being shopped around to networks this spring, with the heavy caveat that although a lot of these shows were in development, there was no indication as to whether any of them would actually get picked up by a network. Well, the networks are finally making those decisions, and, well, it’s looking like an amazing season for female actresses and creators. From Deadline:
All four new comedy series ordered so far by Fox and NBC this season have female leads…Â All four of the newly picked series come from female creators.
This will double the number of comedy shows on Fox and NBC with female leads (which currently stands at Tina Fey’s 30 Rock and Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation). Dramas are also getting a strong showing of female talent.
One of the two new Fox dramas, Alcatraz, has a female lead, Sarah Jones, and was co-written by a female writer, Liz Sarnoff. Of the two NBC drama pickups, one is the female-centered Prime Suspect starring Maria Bello and written by Alexandra Cunningham and the other the female-skewing Smash, which has two leads, one played by Debra Messing.
There’s even apparently some evidence that this is all a part of Fox and NBC putting together women-themed prime-time comedy blocks.
The shows themselves are The New Girl, starring Zooey Deschanel (created by Liz Meriwether); I Hate My Teenage Daughter, where the two female leads will be played by Jamie Pressly and Katie Finneran (written by Ellen Kreamer and Sherry Bilsing-Graham); Up All Night with Christina Applegate (written by Emily Spivey); and Whitney, created by and starring Whitney Cummings.
(via Deadline.)
Published: May 12, 2011 11:57 am