Those who only know Mandy Moore from her Emmy-nominated role on This Is Us are missing out on the real-life Rebecca’s other early career. As a teen, Moore was a blonde bubblegum pop star, whose hits like “Candy” and “I Wanna Be With You” became staples of mix CDs for crushes. Now, Moore is taking fans back to that time in her life, according to Deadline, with a new TV series based on Moore’s singer roots.
The potential new series, which already has a put pilot commitment from ABC, is executive produced by Moore and This Is Us co-showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. It is set to be written by The Bold Type showrunner Amanda Lasher. The series, titled 90’s Pop Star, will take fans back to that decade and follow a family as they navigate life now that their teenage daughter has skyrocketed to fame overnight.
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Whether or not Moore’s real music will be featured in the series is unclear, but Moore will definitely have the real world experience to make this show feel as authentic as possible. As a high school freshman, the TV star signed a record deal and went on tour with *NSYNC. Still, she told KCRW this year that her family tried to keep her life as normal as possible.
"Everybody always allowed me to be me,” she told the outlet in August of her early days of fame. “They understood that I was a young person first and foremost."
The series comes at a time when Moore is once again actively pursuing new opportunities in music. Earlier this year, she signed a pod deal with 20th Century Fox, the studio behind 90’s Pop Star, to produce content “with a musical bent” for television and streaming services.
She’s also back in the studio recording new songs. Moore just released “When I Wasn’t Watching,” her first single in a decade and after she went public about ex-husband Ryan Adams’ alleged emotional abuse that reportedly kept her from releasing new songs.
Alternate title of 90’s Pop Star? How about...This Is Mandy.