I’m going to keep this brief because I don’t need a spike in my blood pressure early in the day, but TV Land order a pilot for an adaptation of First Wives Club—one of the most delightful and re-watchable of all 90s comedies—into a series with a new cast (why bother if Goldie, Bette, and Diane aren’t involved), a new setting (why on earth is this being set in San Francisco?!), and no reason for existing.
In TV Land’s contemporary take, which will be set in modern-day San Francisco, the women will band together after their friend dies in a freak accident (as opposed to the film, which found Stockard Channing’s Cynthia taking her own life). When they discover they are all at a romantic crossroads, they join forces to tackle divorce, relationships and life’s other annoying challenges.
Reading “freak accident” set off alarm bells that these women will be significantly younger than Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler were at the time they filmed The First Wives Club, but maybe I’m being too pessimistic.
The First Wives Club was a vehicle for three beloved comedy stars, and the sheer pleasure of seeing them bicker with each other accounted for at least 50 percent of the movie’s success. Without that built-in charm, this show is going to have to work twice as hard.
I won’t tell her what to do, and I won’t tell her what to say, but I will wish New Girl’s Rebecca Addelman, who’s been hired to write the pilot, a whole lot of luck.
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Image via screengrab.
