Alicia Silverstone To Star As Real Housewives Mother. Yes, Really.

Alicia Silverstone is returning to TV in a role that will see her play the mom of a character inspired by a Real Housewife. Silverstone will star in TV Land’s American Woman pilot, The Hollywood Reporter reports. Kyle Richards, a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills, serves as inspiration for the single-camera comedy drawing its setting from the sexual and feminist revolution of the 1970s. Silverstone’s character is Bonnie Nolan, a new divorcee with two daughters. THR writes that “Bonnie sets out to claim her own brand of independence in a world not ready to give it.” John Riggi, late of 30 Rock, wrote the American Woman pilot. He’ll executive produce with John Wells, who’s worked on shows like Shameless, Southland, and The West Wing. While TV Land seems like an odd choice for an actress like Silverstone to make her small screen return, the lack of high expectations has led to some very interesting results. Take Mr. Robot, which debuted on USA to literally no expectations. Nobody would have pegged a hacker drama starring Christian Slater to be anything but forgettable and probably cancelled after one season. Instead, the show has been a runaway smash. Riggi and Wells certainly have the pedigree, and Silverstone has the talent, so we’ll have to see if she’ll ride low expectations to huge success. Or she could do what Betty White did with Hot in Cleveland and ride a huge wave of popular support into a career revival.