Breaking! Padma Lakshmi to Star in Food-Centric Sitcom

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Big news! Variety is reporting that Top Chef host/ES mascot Padma Lakshmi is going to be flexing her funny bone in an upcoming half-hour sitcom currently in development at NBC:

Building on her “Top Chef” credentials, the show will star Lakshmi as a woman working in the culinary world. (One possible title being mulled: “Single Serving.”)

Variety notes that Padma wouldn’t be the first cheflebrity to try turning basic cable fame into sitcom stardom. But she would be the first to succeed…

Despite the popularity of food-centric TV, attempts to translate it into sitcom form have been mixed. Fox’s “Kitchen Confidential,” based on Anthony Bourdain’s book, was critically acclaimed but short-lived. And NBC’s move to turn Emeril Lagasse into a comedy star fell flat.

What do you think, ESers? Does Padma have the comedy chops to break the chef-com curse? And will you tune in to watch Single Serving, Padma and the City, the Padma Chronicles, or whatever they end up calling it? And what time should we start live-blogging?

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6 comments

  • TVFF July 20, 2009  

    I would like to go on record stating that this will be the biggest festering pile of shit on television, should it somehow make it to the airwaves.

    If Bradley Cooper couldn’t make Kitchen Confidential a hit, what’s Padma going to do? She can’t even do a decent line reading on Top Chef…how can she be expected to convey any sense of believability in an acting role. And a comedy role, at that.

    On the other hand, maybe it’s a “comedy” in the same sense that Family Guy is a “comedy,” so being funny isn’t really a requirement.

  • Britannia July 20, 2009  

    This makes me nervous. Bravo is one thing, but NBC is whole different ball game. I fear her failing on NBC will result in a poor reflection for Top Chef. Damn her and her beauty if she brings down the TC.

    Sorry Padma, just can’t support you with this one.

  • harleytexas July 21, 2009  

    What a great show it will be, she’s such a talent and shines on Top Chef, it’s a sure-fire hit. Wow, what a load of shit I just wrote. No talent, not interesting and grating on the nerves…wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

  • harleytexas July 21, 2009  

    What a great show it will be, she’s such a talent and shines on Top Chef, it’s a sure-fire hit. Wow, what a load of shit I just wrote. No talent, not interesting and grating on the nerves…wheeeeeeeeeeeee!
    OH! You’re my new favorite blogger fyi

  • C. Christy Concrete July 21, 2009  

    Whatever it is, it’s doomed to failure if her cleavage remains deeper than any potential story plots or character developments.

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