Are you there vodka? It’s me, Donna, from That 70s Show. Remember me? I’m coming back to television. You know, Hot Donna! Laura Prepon has just signed on to star as young Chelsea Handler in NBC’s multicamera comedy pilot, Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea (even though Prepon is only 5 years younger than Handler).
Okay, in all honesty, I enjoyed That 70s Show — although that may have been because of the dude with brillo pad hair, Led Zeppelin tshirts, and aviators that constantly shroud those eyes full of half-baked conspiracy theories (Hyde was a babe, okay?) — but I don’t know that Laura Prepon necessarily has the chops to continue outside of her Donna-rific 70s realm. She attempted with a leading role in the short-lived October Road, but her performance fell a little flat. As Donna, she was always a little cheesy, but entertaining none the less. Her talents clearly lie in the multicamera world and her tomboy character on That 70s Show sort of lends itself to Chelsea Handler-style comedy once you throw her into our era. Plus, her voice is far less annoying than the real life comedianne’s, so that’s a good thing right there.
Of course to separate the show from Handler’s real life, the character’s last name is Hanson. (Why did they even bother changing the name? It just sounds like someone misspoke.) As Chelsea Hanson, Prepon will play a cocktail waitress who is very open and opinionated about her desires to drink and have sex. Hopefully Prepon puts her own spin on this instead of just acting as a clone of Handler. We only need one; REALLY. We’ll see where the rest of the chips fall as the show comes together, because if they don’t fall perfectly, it’s going to be a mine-field of awful sitcom blunders.
Source: Deadline
