“if
you’ve seen alias, you basically know what’s
going to happen in [our show],” jokes Michelle
Paradise, the writer, executive producer, and star of
the new lesbian “dramedy” Exes &
Ohs, premiering on Logo in October.
Paradise’s
goofy-pretty charm may begin to explain how, without an
agent and with just one short film under her belt, she
came to be auteur and leading lady of the first (and
long overdue) lesbian comedy on TV. Logo president
Brian Graden says the pilot hinges on Michelle’s
character and “how endearing and relatable she
is in such a universal, everywoman way.”
Paradise plays
the hapless Jennifer, a documentarian in the middle of
such a long post-breakup dry spell that she’s
practically reverted to a virgin. Jennifer is coaxed
into “getting out there” by her close circle
of Seattle friends: bossy ex-girlfriend and best friend Sam
(Marnie Alton), pet accessory store–owning life
partners Chris (Megan Cavanaugh) and Kris (Angela
Featherstone), and wannabe musician “Crutch,”
played by Heather Matarazzo.
Once you get over
the fact that Matarazzo, as the baby dyke next door,
does not resemble your neighborhood boi but rather a
grown-up version of her character Weiner Dog from
Welcome to the Dollhouse, her mix of gooberishness and
“edge” is hilarious. Similarly, Cavanaugh (A
League of Their Own) brings her dopey comic persona to
the wouldn’t-hurt-a-fly Chris. The lesson here
seems to be that lovable-misfit actors have been gay
all along (if we hadn’t learned that already from
Lily Tomlin), so they are raring to play openly gay
characters.
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