Sep 21 2009
New Show I Love: Drop Dead Diva
I love Lifetime’s preachy, feel-good shows, from Strong Medicine to Any Day Now. You can have your Mad Men, Rescue Me and all your critically acclaimed white-male shows. Give me women hugging and tackling issues. The latest Lifetime drama, Drop Dead Diva, is another feel-good show about a plus-size lawyer, Jane ( Brooke Elliot) who has the ghost of a dead skinny model inside her. Who hasn’t had to deal with that? Despite the crazy premise, this show is a fun guilty pleasure, but also makes me think.
Not since Roseanne have we seen a plus-size woman on TV on a scripted show who isn’t a laughing stock, object of pity, or ignored. Yes, Jane has her insecurities, but she also doesn’t let it get in the way of her career and she even has a social life. The overarching theme of the show is to accept your body the way it is.The guest stars are fun, too. From Rosie O’Donnell to Liza Minelli, if you want to see your favorite actress who’s over 40, chances are she’ll be on this show. Margaret Cho is also a funny sidekick, but my only quibble is I wish she had more lines.
Other than that, though, I finally have a light drama I can watch again. Drop Dead Diva fills the Gilmore Girls void in my TV schedule. It could use more Pixies and coffee references, but it’s still the only female-led dramedy I really like. For women ( and gay men for that matter) who want an alternative to football and the 3 Seth MacFarlane shows on Sundays, watch Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime at 8 Central Time.






