You know the old saying, "You can't keep a good Eva Longoria off of TV." Okay, so that's admittedly not very old, nor is it a standardized idiom, but that doesn't make it any less true. The veteran TV actress has tried valiantly to recapture the longtime success of her former drama Desperate Housewives, but has so far come up short. Hopefully her newest gig can be the charm, as Longoria is joining the talented squad of Ken Marino, Kyle Bornheimer, Steve Harris and Andy Richter for what sounds like an extremely harsh Fox comedy called Type-A.
Expect to see a more comedically piercing side of Eva Longoria for Type-A, a single-camera project that will see the actress playing a character named Axler, a consultant within a corporate firm made up of employees that do the jobs that few others want to do: they go into other firms and drop the layoffs, the downsizings and other bits of horrible news that mainstream employees hate to hear about. Axler, whose name is about as on the nose as a nostril, is brutally honest with everyone she talks to, and her ambitions are also worn on her sleeves. There is something inside of her that strives to break free and be nice to people, but she keeps that personality trait locked down.
This will be yet another lead role for Eva Longoria, and this time it's from the Life in Pieces creative team of executive producer Jason Winer and writer/producer Lesley Wake-Webster, and Winer will step in and direct the pilot. Having last taken the front lines on the short-lived network comedy Telenovela, Longoria complemented that time with appearances on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Lip Sync Battle and Devious Maids, and she's got a spicy arc coming to Fox's Empire when it returns for the remainder of Season 3. I love that she has zero issues flipping from comedy to drama and back, and Type-A already has one of the best casts she's ever worked with. TVLine claims another female lead is currently being cast, so expect that to come out soon.
Ken Marino, of Party Down and Veronica Mars fame, will take on the role of Garland, a slick and schmoozy attorney whose quasi-predatory approach put him in a relationship with Axler once upon a time. (We're certain that won't come up in weird ways.) Marino is a comedy genius, having also worked on greats like Wet Hot American Summer and its Netflix series, as well as the spoof show Burning Love, Marry Me and much more. Even Agent Carter, which wasn't a comedy, but it made him an MCU character, as Ken Marino should be.
Similarly, Kyle Bornheimer is an actor who has seemingly been on every fourth comedy on TV in the past 10-15 years. He will step in and play the moral compass of the group, whose name is Ben. He's a war vet who only has one leg, so he'll be stepping in presumably in an awkward manner, as is Bornheimer's way. In 2016-2017 alone, the actor has appeared in 7 different TV shows, including a larger role in Hulu's Casual, as well as a couple of movies and a TV pilot that went nowhere. (He memorably reprised his Breaking Bad role on Better Call Saul, which was obviously the best one.)
Steve Harris is a veteran of The Practice, which puts him a little closer to Eva Longoria for genre comparisons, but in Type-A, he'll be bringing the laughs as a security chief named Carson. Part of where Caron's humor lies in in the contrast between his large and intimidating physique and his love for his tiny show poodle. Your mileage may vary. Most recently, Harris starred in the TNT drama Legends and appeared in a 2015 episode of NCIS, while he showed up on the big screen in Spike Lee's Chi-Raq.
Finally, we have Andy Richter, best known as Conan O'Brien's late night sidekick for many years, as well as someone known for appearing in hilarious TV comedies. (Including his own short-lived pieces of brilliance.) Richter will bring his sardonic ways to the role of Luderman, someone whose ability to manipulate is untouched by not only those around him, but also most others in the world. Richter appeared earlier this year in an episode of Life in Pieces, so that's some good synergy.
It's unclear when we'll get to hear any more about Type-A and Eva Longoria's future as a network TV lead, so while you're waiting, head to our midseason premiere schedule and our summer premiere guide to see all the shows that are heading to TV in the future.
