Have you been wondering how Molly Kagen and the homeless dude are doing ever since The Starter Wife ended its run this summer? Me neither. But it looks like we’ll have a chance to find out anyway. According to Zap2It, USA is making the miniseries into a full-fledged series.
Debra Messing will be reprising her role as Molly Kagen, a children’s book author whose hotshot Hollywood husband leaves her for a Britney Spears clone (that’s 2003 Britney, not 2007 Britney, because that would be an entirely different [and probably more awesome] show). The series follows Kagen as she spends the summer with her friends obsessing about men, her place in society, the size of her butt and aggressively product-placed Ponds facial cleansers.
USA has reportedly ordered ten episodes of The Starter Wife, but as of now it is unclear if any of the supporting cast will sign on for the run. Judie Davis, who played Molly’s alcoholic best friend Joan McAllister, won an Emmy for her role. She is already attached to another miniseries in 2008 called Diamonds, but it’s also on USA, so she may be able to fit both in. Peter Jacobson, who played Molly’s smarmy husband Kenny, has been seen on House this season.
I watched The Starter Wife this summer, because it started right after all of the season finales and right before all of the good summer programming kicked in. I was desperate for new TV. It was only six episodes long, but it felt like forever. Messing’s acting choices were all over the place, the storyline was simultaneously predictable and baffling and the fact that they filmed many of the scenes on the beach led to a lot of looping, which if done well can hardly be noticed, but this…was not. Why it received ten Emmy nominations is a question for the ages; but the fact is, the premiere brought in 5.5 million viewers, which is huge for a summer show on cable, so I’m definitely not writing this one off. In fact, I’ll probably be watching and hating every minute of it next summer.
