Actress and activist Jane Fonda has signed on for a new mother-daughter comedy on ABC, called Now What? .
Though the 74-year-old icon hasn’t been seen much on the big screen lately, a great guest-starring role in The Newsroom as a shrewd corporate executive has lit a renewed flame of interest in Fonda, which she has apparently leveraged into the new ABC series.
Variety reports that Now What? will be in the sitcom-traditional single-camera half-hour format, and will revolve around a young women who publicly criticizes her mother in a blog post titled “Dear Mom, Here’s Why I Hate You…” Fonda’s character then winds up moving in with her daughter, refusing to leave until the two work out their differences. We guess there’s supposed to be comedy somewhere in that drama-heavy description.
One perk for the show is that there’s some serious talent behind it. Deadline reports that the show’s spec script was written by Abby Gewanter of Pushing Daisies success, and Weeds director/executive producer Scott Ellis will be co-executive producer.
As stated above, Fonda has received much acclaim for her Newsroom guest spot, and will likely drum up some further acclaim with her portrayal of Nancy Reagan next year in Lee Daniels’ White House-set drama The Butler .
Gewanter’s TV resume also included credits with David Milch’s Deadwood , John from Cincinnati , and TBS comedy Glory Daze . The writer has range, so it’ll be interesting to see how Now What? turns out.
Are you a fan of Jane Fonda? Who would work best as her TV daughter on ABC’s Now What ?
