Tired of The Hills and Gossip Girl? Watch Drop Dead Diva.
If one of its stars is to be believed, the one-hour Lifetime dramedy is the anti-thesis to the vapid kind of programming that the two shows typify. The show's premise is formulaic enough: shallow model-in-training Deb Dobson (Brooke D'Orsay) dies in a sudden accident only to find her soul going back to Earth. The catch is, the only available body is another recently deceased woman lawyer Jane Bingum (Brooke Elliott), who just happen to be fat.
While the
Drop Dead Diva's premise is a little cliché, critics say the execution is excellent, giving the slim-girl-getting-new-fat-perspective more bite. Its tag-line goes something along the lines of "Life looks different the second time around."
First Deb was horrified in her new human form, but soon discovers the meaning of inner beauty as she finds the ability to juggle legal cases, aided by her assistant Terri (Margaret Cho), while attempting to reconnect incognito with her still-grieving boyfriend Grayson Kent (Jackson Hurst). Only two people know Jane's true identity - gatekeeper angel Fred (Ben Feldman) who was demoted to guardian angel and now watches over her at the law firm and longtime mortal friend Stacy (April Bowlby).
Elliott is best known for her role on
Wicked and
Taboo. She stars alongside Notorious C.H.O's Margaret Cho,
The Tree of Life's Jackson Hurst,
Cashmere Mafia's Kate Levering,
How I Met Your Mother's Brooke D'Orsay, and
The Perfect Man's Ben Feldman.
Drop Dead Diva's first 13 episodes is set to air on Lifetime Sunday night, alongside Army Wives.
- Glenn Diaz, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Lifetime
(Image courtesy of Lifetime)