Lucy Liu is on her way back to network TV, but she definitely won't be playing the Watson to a Holmes this time around. The former Elementary leading lady has landed a new role that, if all goes well, will bring her back to the small screen. This time, however, she'd be delivering laughs rather than helping solve mysteries. Liu is slated to star in an ABC comedy pilot.
The new multi-camera pilot, which currently doesn't have a title, will follow a diva boss by the name of Devin running a successful furniture company whose lack of patience with working parents is thrown aside when she adopts a baby of her own. According to TVLine, her subsequent change of heart results in her turning to the most unlikely of mentors: her assistant, who also happens to be a working mother of three. This new dynamic of boss turning to assistant will definitely upend the office.
Lucy Liu will play Devin, who is as fierce and powerful as she is unaccustomed to failure. Raising a child is one thing she wasn't prepared for, however, and parenting is something she'll need help on if she intends to keep working. This pilot was one of several that recently got the go-ahead from ABC, and arguably one of the most high-profile now that it has landed Liu as star.
Of course, Lucy Liu's biggest recent TV credits aren't exactly sitcoms. Her seven-season run as Joan Watson on Elementary kept her on a CBS drama for 150 episodes and the better part of a decade, and she moved to streaming after the end of Elementary in August 2019.
Her CBS All Access show, Why Women Kill, had some darkly comedic moments, but definitely doesn't qualify as a multi-cam sitcom. Why Women Kill was renewed for a second season, but The Wrap reports it will follow a new set of characters.
Lucy Liu's move to ABC should allow her to show off a new side of her TV skills, and she'll serve as an executive producer on the show if it scores a series order. The project has already gone through two name changes. Originally called Kids Matter, the title was changed to Bossy, and now even that second name has evidently been nixed.
Only time will tell if Lucy Liu's new pilot will get a series order from ABC. The pilot season for the 2020-2021 season has been anything but normal thanks to production shutdowns throughout the entertainment industry, so we'll have to wait for news. For now, you can find the seven seasons of Liu on Elementary streaming on Hulu, and Liu's season of Why Women Kill streaming on CBS All Access. For more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, check out our 2020 summer TV premiere schedule.
