My Big Fat Greek Wedding’s Nia Vardalos is putting together a new show inspired by Chewbacca Mom, who became a viral sensation and found stardom overnight.
By the nature of viral videos, you can became famous pretty quickly, but the attention typically fades after a little while. For Chewbacca Mom, her 15-minutes lasted a little longer because Star Wars remains relevant no matter what, and because her shtick was just pure, unadulterated happiness. The entire gist is that she put a toy mask on, which you can buy at Target for $13, and started laughing.
Now, as a robot with a limited range of emotions, I can tell you that I didn’t think the video was the funniest thing in the world. But you know what I do like? My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I legitimately think that’s one of the most original and funniest movies of all time. It instantly made me a Nia Vardalos fan, even though she hasn’t enjoyed the same amount of success since 2002. She tried a sequel, she pops up on TV every now and again, but I don’t think she’s found the right vehicle for her comedy until right now.
Thanks to Chewbacca Mom.
At first glance, I’m immediately like, “No, please, don’t do this. Nia, I want you to star in your own TV show and be funny and successful, but please leave Chewbacca Mom out of this.” That’s what I would say to her, as if I have a single clue about anything (which I don’t). But once you read the pitch as described by Deadline, suddenly the idea makes a lot of sense.
"Co-written by Vardalos and former Raising Hope showrunner Mike Mariano, Suburbs Famous explores what happens after a suburban housewife (Vardalos) accidentally becomes famous in a viral video. Thrust into the cutthroat world of celebrity chefs, the newly divorced mom must navigate between the intense public scrutiny which could destroy her and the investors who want to make her a star… all while realizing she suddenly has the one thing everyone wants: power."
Boom. It’s a simple concept, universal to just about everyone, even those of us who aren’t famous or trying to be. Not only that, but it’s super prevalent to The Internet and our new age of technology as a whole. However, now Vardalos is sticking this in the context of suburbia.
As she explained:
"“I wanted to explore the concept of sudden fame for someone who isn’t prepared and doesn’t want it, for someone who gets power and doesn’t know what to do with it, as well as what happens next.”"
It’s not like single, sexy, young girl becomes famous. We’ve seen that. This is a middle-aged woman, who could be a little high-strung and probably a little awkward doing the best she can. It’s like Younger but with somebody whose comedy brand I trust a little more.
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While Vardalos originally met Chewbacca Mom on a morning show, the idea isn’t foreign to her. Until Sing, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was the highest-earning film that never hit No. 1 at the box office. Vardalos has yet to have a No. 1 anything really, and she deserves it. I mean, this idea sounds pretty cool, so I hope it works out.
The tentatively titled Suburbs Famous is currently in development at Bravo.