5 reasons Katy Keene is a show that deserves to find a new home
By Lacy Baugher
![Katy Keene -- "Chapter Eight: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" -- Image Number: KK108A_0257b.jpg -- Pictured (L-R): Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy, Julia Chan as Pepper Smith and Lucy Hale as Katy Keene -- Photo: Peter Kramer/The CW -- © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Katy Keene -- "Chapter Eight: It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" -- Image Number: KK108A_0257b.jpg -- Pictured (L-R): Ashleigh Murray as Josie McCoy, Julia Chan as Pepper Smith and Lucy Hale as Katy Keene -- Photo: Peter Kramer/The CW -- © 2020 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/2ad962f809e5c800256f0664ba345b51e1e40b2b83cb9b9a2fade265bc5c053c.jpg)
Lucy Hale deserves a hit
Actress Lucy Hale is probably familiar to many members of Katy Keene’s audience thanks to her decade-long portrayal of Aria Montgomery on the megapopular teen drama Pretty Little Liars. Unfortunately, she’s had a sort of unlucky run since that series ending, landing the lead on another CW drama, the warm and fairly adorable Life Sentence, which was also canceled after just a single season.
In Katy Keene, she stars as the titular lead, playing the character with the sort of sweet, charming optimism that feels like a breath of fresh air in this current landscape of grimdark, difficult and often unlikeable heroines. Katy is an ambitious and hopeful, living in New York to chase her dream of becoming a fashion designer. She makes plenty of mistakes, both professionally and personally, but she’s easy to root for and like.
A large part of that is thanks to Hale’s performance, which shines with an appealing everygirl vibe no matter how ridiculous her homemade outfit of the moment might happen to be. She’s the sort of actress who can more than carry a show on her own, and it would be nice to see her get the chance to really dig into Katy’s character in a second season.