Ellie Kemper has been one of the few consistent bright spots during the victory lap/shipwreck final season of The Office, and she’s a former acting student of Don Draper himself, so it should come as no surprise that she up and landed her own show. Here are the details.
Ellie Kemper has signed for the lead role in the NBC comedy pilot Brenda Forever. The flashback-filled pitch: “Stories from Brenda Miller’s past and present are interwoven to give a unique portrait of how a chubby, awkward, but incredibly confident 13-year-old grew up to be a 31-year-old woman who still marches to the beat of her own drum.” [EW]
Now, my default reaction to any sentence that includes the words “NBC” and “comedy” is skepticism, and I certainly don’t think that’s unreasonable. The network has managed to bungle just about everything it’s rolled out since Parks & Recreaction, making “broad” comedies that didn’t land (Animal Practice) and screwing around with promising ones before yanking the plug (Best Friends Forever). BUT, in the last two weeks they’ve given pilots to Ellie Kemper and John Mulaney, so maybe I can set aside the bloggity snarksnark for a minute and give them the benefit of the doubt here. This is a huge gesture on my part. I expect a parade.
Photo credit: Featureflash/Shutterstock
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I would be happy to watch her on a weekly basis on TV — or from outside her house, either way.
Sounds very New Girl-esque, not that is necessarily a bad thing.
Oh, and in case anyone was wondering Ellie > Zooey
This and This. Very much this.
You shut your whore mouth.
Correctomundo!
The only thing this post is missing is the Hipster Erin GIF.
This sounds awful. I mean worse than CBS awful.
You can’t really judge a show by its premise. They’re always extremely vague and rarely get at the show’s actual character. Though the inclusion of the phrase “still marches to the beat of her own drum” does give me pause.
She has one of the most challenging acting roles on The Office. Her boyfriend sailed away on a boat so he could go film The Hangover 3. No one has seen or mentioned him since.
And here I thought I was the only one that watched BFF. That show was great. Who would have thought Betty White’s prank show wouldn’t be a great lead in.
Yes, NBC’s grand experiment…”Let’s start a Wednesday comedy block AND NOT TELL ANYONE!”
I loved BFF and Bent but NBC marketed them so poorly that I didn’t realize that they had happened until I found them on Hulu. Quality work, NBC.
It has to be better then that Mindy show. That show is rank. Just so bad.
I will have to respectfully disagree.
douchewagon
Speaking of the Mindy Show, she guest starred and looked about 5 years older. A LOT of neck flab was happening.
I hear she gives dry blowjez
Super dry, like sandpaper. Lots of teeth too.
As much as I like Kemper, that is a truly awful plot description. Animal Practice bad.
“incredibly confident 13-year-old grew up to be a 31-year-old woman who still marches to the beat of her own drum” It’s exactly shit like this NBC, that makes for crap television.
Punky Brewster : the grown up years
A disgraced lawyer enrolls at a community college and forms a study group with a bunch of wacky characters, and gradually finds the heart he never knew he had.
Pay it no mind. These descriptions are always pretty crappy.