Just when you thought TV was being overflooded with characters sporting supernatural abilities (people with the power to regenerate, to bring people back to life by simply touching them, to be… bionic), we discover a new TV heroine whose humanity is what makes her extraordinary: The Starter Wife, about a former wife of a powerful man who’s moved on to better (and most of the time, younger) things. Her story is set in one of the most fascinating and vicious places that even Hiro Nakamura can’t bring us to with all his squinty-eyed efforts: Hollywood.
Yes, we’ve seen the lives of hot young actors and their entourages, the socialites and their DUI arrests, but The Starter Wife shows us a totally new perspective of Hollywood through the eyes of a “Wife Of”-turned-Starter Wife. We think that the starlets and the production studios are the only ones working, but being a Wife Of is also a full-time career. In between managing her husband’s schedule and needs, she needs to pamper and prettify herself (lest the judgmental eye of Hollywood deem her fat or old) and raise her children by depositing them in the most elite private schools and picking them up after. Wives Of are practically a hybrid of the former trophy wife and the personal assistant, but that label is as good as a VIP access badge to get them through all the velvet ropes: movie premieres, exclusive club memberships, and even hard-to-get beauty appointments.
The hilarious and gorgeous Debra Messing plays Molly, Wife Of Kenny Kagan, Hollywood studio executive. She arranges everything so that Kenny never has to remember a name during a movie premiere, set up a meeting, fix a meal or even catch a bug — all with perfect hair, flawless skin, a trim figure and a fabulous designer wardrobe. That is, until she gets an unexpected phone call from him in the middle of the night, declaring he wants a divorce. Before she realizes it, she’s been shoved off Hollywood’s A-List, shooed away from charity committees, and cut off from her club memberships. Shocked and disgusted, she agrees to get away from L.A. and stay in the Malibu Colony, the summer playground of the rich and famous. Here, by reflection and rediscovery, she tries to remove the label that she’s had as just someone’s appendage and redefine herself.
I am beyond excited that The Starter Wife is going to be showing here on the Hallmark Channel. I’ve been reading great things about this mini-series for the past few months, especially at the height of the summer TV season in the States. Based on the best-selling novel by Gigi Levange Grazer, wife of producer Brian Grazer, the two-hour premiere was the biggest original series launch in the US in three years among adults 18 to 49. It was nominated for 10 Emmy Awards and, hey, it’s also incredibly funny. Debra Messing is so likeable as Molly, from her genuine concern for her only daughter Jaden, to her hilarious woes about her weight and wrinkles, to her dry reactions to Kenny’s new girlfriend, Shoshana. Her journey to self-discovery and empowerment is an honest one. You will laugh at her paranoid pep talks and crazy outbursts, but you will definitely egg her on as she slowly finds her inner strength and self. As enjoyable as her narration is, I also love the movie-inspired skits from her imagination, from movies like Casablanca, From Here to Eternity and even Titanic.
Through it all, Molly remains a good friend to her motley crew of buddies, and just as well — they provide a lot of funny moments and interesting subplots. Joan finds herself in rehab instead of Paris then tries to make up morbid stories about her childhood to get out. Rodney rebuilds his shattered interior design career after he ruins it with 12 horribly tacky chairs. Cricket struggles to keep her friendship with Molly, then tries to deal with her husband’s infidelity. Of course, what would this story be without the men? Her misadventures get more interesting when not one, but two men enter her life — the mysterious, strappingly handsome beachcomber Sam and Kenny’s distinguished, accomplished and adorable boss Lou. Personally, I’m the team captain of Team Lou, but you can make your decision when you watch.
This show is too delicious and too hilarious to miss. Only Gigi Levangie Grazer could have painted this picture of what it’s really like to be a Hollywood hotshot, and only Molly can make starting over look so fabulous and fun. Hey, she may have superpowers after all: the power to survive a Hollywood divorce.
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Catch the special two-hour premiere this Sunday, Oct. 21, at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark Channel. Tune in every Sunday at 9 p.m. until Nov. 18 to finish this fabulous six-hour mini-series. Encores play every Tuesday at 9 p.m. starting Oct. 23, every Monday at 10 a.m. starting Oct. 22, or every Wednesday at 3 p.m. starting Oct. 24. Visit the Hallmark Channel website at www.hallmarkchannel.tv.
The Starter Wife is available at Powerbooks.