If you've been hoping to see more of Paula Abdul on TV, you might soon have a chance. And, this time, she won't be stuck behind a judges table. The singer, dancer, choreographer and sometime actress has just signed on to appear in a new network comedy pilot where she'll be playing herself.
The single camera comedy, currently in the works for NBC, comes from Kourtney Kang and Nahnatchka Khan, who are mostly known for their work on the ABC hit Fresh Off the Boat. If the pilot is ordered to series, the show would be based on Kang's life and will look at what it's like to grow up as the only girl in the only mixed race family in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The young girl, who will be played by Isabella Russo, deals with race and gender issues while trying to focus on her life goal, which just happens to be following in the footsteps of her idol, Paula Abdul, and becoming one of the famous Laker Girls cheerleaders.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paula Abdul will not only be playing herself, which she has done before, but will be a series regular, which would certainly be new for Abdul. Aside from her long-time careers as a singer/dancer/choreographer, Abdul has become best known recently for judging the talents of others on reality talent competition shows. She famously began her judging career with the runaway hit American Idol, which she appeared on from the show's beginning in 2002, until 2010. In 2013 she moved on to judging young dancers on So You Think You Can Dance, and she was a part of that show until last season.
Having been famous as long as Paula Abdul has, it's no surprise that she's made several appearances in non-reality show television series over the years, and, as I mentioned earlier, she has even already played herself on screen quite a few times. Abdul has tried out her acting chops in shows such as Spin City, The Wayans Bros., The Bernie Mac Show, That's So Raven, Less Than Perfect, Drop Dead Diva and, most recently, Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life.
It's possible that since Abdul will not be a part of So You Think You Can Dance in the coming season that she was looking for some new challenges in her career, and taking on a (potential) regular role in a TV series would definitely be that for the multi-talented star. Right now it's too early to tell if the, currently untitled, show will make it past the pilot stage, but we'll keep you up to date on Paula Abdul's debut as a scripted series regular should things move forward with the comedy. In the meantime, be sure to check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see what else you can catch on the small screen.
