Her series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has wrapped up, but Rachel Bloom certainly isn’t staying idle. The latest announcement from the Television Critics Association Press Tour reports that Pop TV has ordered the pilot for Bloom’s latest series effort. Mother Mary is described as “a modern twist on one of the famous stories ever told.” That famous story is biblical, as the series features the title character (previously created by Betsy Sodaro of Disjointed) as “the most irresponsible and lazy human on Earth” who happens to become pregnant by way of Immaculate Conception.
Mother Mary will star Sodaro as the title character; Bloom steps in as “Christa Anton,” the mother of the antichrist. Fun! Sodaro will also write the project along with Casey Feigh (What We Do In The Shadows) and Dan Gregor (How I Met Your Mother). Bloom will executive produce with Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch of Jax Media and Feigh, Gregor, and Sodaro. Pop is apparently looking to expand its comedy slate as its Schitt’s Creek has just started its final season; the network also recently picked up One Day At Time after it was dropped from Netflix. Mother Mary is scheduled to start shooting in February.
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Yes! I’ve been dying for something new from Bloom, and this sounds just the ticket. On a somewhat related note, Gwen, if you haven’t already, you might check out the pilot for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. It’s about a woman who can hear people’s thoughts but only through song and dance. Not sure what kind of future it may have but the pilot was very promising, and it definitely helped a bit in filling that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend shaped hole.
I wanted to love Zoey’s—the cast is great (including a Crazy Ex alumni), and the songs themselves were fun enough, as was Mandy Moore (not that Mandy Moore)‘s choreography, albeit a bit too on the nose. But the tone felt all off to me—the extreme sentimentality of the family stuff, etc. I love Jane Levy, but she felt a bit… off to me as well (I seem to be in the vast minority on this point, though, as even the negative reviews have called it some of her best work).
Maybe I just remember the extremely similar in concept Eli Stone (though he had a tumour that brings about the pop song hallucinations/character revelations) which worked a lot better for me? Obviously pilot’s often have trouble nailing down a show’s tone and I’ll give it a few more watches.
I agree there are problems to be ironed out. The main issue for me is the inconsistency of Zoey’s new abilities. It is one thing for her to hear the thoughts of one person. It functions as a kind of poetic soliloquy. But for whole groups to sing in a cohesive song didn’t make sense because it implies a hive mind mentality. I hope they avoid this, and stick with just a single person singing.
Great point (re-reading my comment, I sound way more negative than I mean to be lol). Funny you say that—I was recently reading a Stephen Sondheim interview where he said that he tries to avoid chorus numbers where everyone sings the same thing, unless there’s a key plot point for that, or it’s for humour/irony, etc (and he says this is even more of an issue for him on film which is why most of the chorus numbers were cut—his decision—for the Sweeney Todd film). His reasoning is exactly what you say (this is also why he’s against the Andrew Lloyd Webber trademark technique of having different characters sing to the music that a previous character sang…)
Did you see Eli Stone? Never a big hit, but it did run two seasons and I’m surprised more critics haven’t mentioned the similarity.
I’m incredibly happy about it.I wish she did stuff for one of the big streamers though.
Excellent, always up to see her in more things.
I seem to recall that this was already a show, but it was on YouTube, each of the six episodes were pretty short, and it was done on a shoestring budget. This definitely seems like they are going to do a full series and Bloom at the mother of the Antichrist sounds amazing.
Yeah, Gwen is extremely unclear about that, but I think that’s what she was referring to with her comment in parentheses, “previously created by Betsy Sodaro of Disjointed.”
Dan Gregor directed a brief web series on this topic, I remember, with Sodaro as the title character. I recall Rene Gube was also involved. I don’t know if it lasted 3 episodes. To say the webisodes were ‘rude’ is an understatement. It seems to be nowhere to be found on Youtube now.
Hence Gwen’s rather vague comment “previously created by Betsy Sodaro of Disjointed.”
So, I don’t know much about the Bible, but is there anything inherently interesting about Mary other than “got pregnant weirdly” and “had a peculiar baby shower”?
Not in the Bible, but if you’re going full Catholic, she serves as many saints’ wacky aunt. There are also a series of fairly hilarious Google-able paintings of her breastfeeding St. Bernard, an adult man, at a distance of 10 feet or more.
Not to be a pedant, but you immaculate conception refers to Mary herself. Jesus was born to a virgin. Mary was born free from sin. It’s all Catholic bullshit, but get your bullshit straight. I will definitely check this out because I loved CEG.
Does each episode end with Mother Mary coming to someone and singing songs of wisdom?