Kat Dennings has been a hot commodity in the television world ever since 2 Broke Girls ended, and now the actress has managed to get attached to another new show in the works. The latest move could see Dennings as a network television staple yet again, with the actress landing a lead female role on an untitled ABC pilot based on the book How May We Hate You? It looks like Dennings will be putting her fictional customer service comedic chops to use yet again, this time as a guest-services specialist.
Kat Dennings' latest TV project is a workplace ensemble comedy that focuses on two guest-service associates working at a high-end resort. Dennings' Ellie is one of those associates, and she's tasked with waiting hand and foot on the resort's guests, who spend more money on one night in the room than Ellie pays for a full month's rent. Deadline reports Ellie bears that frustration with a "plastic smile" and with the help of her best friend Gabe, her co-associate at the hotel. Gabe's casting hasn't been announced yet, but given Dennings' experience in the network comedy realm, it shouldn't be too hard to land a solid actor to buddy her up with.
Formerly titled How May We Hate You? after the book, the title-free project comes from Justin Noble, who may be best known for his work as a writer and producer on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The pilot is being shot as a single-camera comedy and will be executive produced and directed by Will Gluck, who was responsible for helming the animated/live-action hybrid feature Peter Rabbit. Scoring Kat Dennings as the female lead has to be good news for both Noble and Gluck, and her casting has been one of the largest pilot deals for an actress this season so far.
Kat Dennings' casting in How May We Hate You? is a great call by ABC and the producers, as it's a role that should feel familiar to audiences. Dennings' Ellie sounds somewhat similar to Max, the character she played in 2 Broke Girls, and while that series was never universally acclaimed by critics, it definitely had its dedicated fans. Dennings is great at playing the whole "service with a begrudging smile," role quite well, and if she gets an equally strong male lead cast at her side, ABC might have a great comedy on its hands. If not, she still has that YouTube Red series with John Cena and the Hulu pilot Dollface, although her involvement in this new project may imply the latter pilot is not moving forward.
The TV pilot season has been churning out newsworthy stuff as of late, so be sure to keep with CinemaBlend and stay on top of all the latest and greatest things that may be heading to television. For information on some shows that will for sure debut at some point this year, visit our midseason premiere guide.
