Former Doctor Who companion to head ABC comedy this Fall
If anyone still questions whether or not British situation comedy is better than its’ American counterpart, one only has to look to the list of pilot comedies coming from American broadcast networks this Fall for verification. In a pitch that must have sounded like it came directly from the lips of Buck Henry in The Player, ABC has picked up Selfie for full series starring former Doctor Who companion, Karen Gillan.
Described as a modern take on My Fair Lady with Gillan playing Eliza Dooley, Selfie sounds more like a documentary than a comedy as it tells the story of a 20-something somewhat narcissistic social media obsessive. Co-starring John Cho (Star Trek) and Homeland‘s David Harewood, the pilot sees Eliza (Gillan) “suffering a very public and humiliating breakup” before becoming the subject of a viral video that lands her more social media followers than she could ever have imagined, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Enter Henry (Cho), an arrogant marketing expert, who is tasked with overhauling Eliza’s tarnished image.
Gillan has had a string of big screen efforts since leaving her role as Amy Pond and will be seen this summer in Guardians of the Galaxy, the Marvel Comics blockbuster superhero film from Disney Studios. I know the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for many British actors seems to be to make it in American television, but Selfie just doesn’t scream ‘hit’ to me. It is titled “Selfie”, after all, which after several months is already the most overused word in the English language. But, I’ve been wrong before…
