Alicia Silverstone hasn't had too much luck on television over the years, although not for lack of trying. She's starred in no less than five pilots that were unsold or unaired, and Fox, ABC, NBC, and Lifetime were all busts for her. Now, she's looking to jump-start her TV career with a new sitcom project called American Woman that was picked up to pilot by TV Land.
American Woman will be set in the 1970s, and it is inspired by the life of Kyle Richards of Real Housewives fame. In it, Alicia Silverstone will play Bonnie Nolan, who leaves her husband and enters a world of cultural and sexual upheaval. She and her two daughters must adapt to their new circumstances and strike a new sort of independence despite opposition from some of the more conservative people around them. The pilot was written by John Riggi of 30 Rock fame, according to THR. Riggi will be joined by John Wells of Shameless and The West Wing to executive produce. Production was originally planned to take place in Atlanta, but the location was changed to Los Angeles for Silverstone's convenience.
Although Alicia Silverstone doesn't have the best track record when it comes to pilots recently, American Woman could finally be the project that makes it to series. She may have better luck with the relatively small TV Land than she did on the major networks; her biggest shot was the 2003 NBC sitcom Miss Match, but that was canceled in the middle of its first season. Silverstone did nab parts on Suburgatory in 2012 and Making a Scene with James Franco in 2015 that proved she has the acting chops to carve out her place on TV.
Silverstone is much better known for her film roles than television. The 90s were a big time for her early career when she starred as Cher in the infinitely quotable 1995 movie Clueless, later tackling the part of Batgirl in the infamous Batman & Robin in 1997. She's dabbled in just about every genre since, ranging from the kids' romp Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed in 2004 to the comedy horror Vamps in 2012 to the romcom Who Gets the Dog? for 2016. If American Woman is successful, Silverstone may end up spending more time on the small screen than the big screen.
TV Land has had some hits and misses over the years as original programming has begun to replace classic series, and American Woman sounds like it will be unlike anything else on the network. A success story with this new sitcom could mean that TV Land will continue branching out in the future. At the very least, Real Housewives fans might be motivated to give American Woman a try. We shouldn't expect the series inspired by Kyle Richards' life to have much in common with Real Housewives, but TV Land's new project could still be of interest.
Only time will tell if American Woman makes it past the pilot stage or becomes yet another TV project of Alicia Silverstone's that never makes it far out of the gate. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you can definitely watch later this year.
