Malin Akerman Joins Portia de Rossi for 'Smart Ones'
ABC nabs A-list actress to round out comedy cast
By Kenny Herzog Feb 17, 2012 10:37AM
It's been a while since Malin Akerman co-starred in Lisa Kudrow's overlooked and ill-fated HBO satire "The Comeback," but perhaps a regular turn on Comedy Central's "Children's Hospital" restored her TV bug. Deadline reports that the budding film star has joined "Arrested Development"/"Better Off Ted" ex-pat Portia de Rossi in ABC's upcoming pilot, "Smart Ones."
Not exactly playing against type, Akerman will handle the role of a ditzy beauty queen-turned-mayor who constantly outshines her braniac older sister (de Rossi, who has in fact deftly taken on characters of varying intelligence over the years). The series comes from Don Todd, who's best known as part of the production teams for "Samantha Who?" and "Ugly Betty." No word yet on when the hilarity will commence, but Akerman's casting has certainly all but secured the 18-34 male demographic.
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Entertainment journalist Deanna "TVDeeva" Barnert visits sets, interviews industry players and critiques the final product. Buzz's daytime TV queen covers it all for MSN TV, but loves her sitcoms, soaps and any juicy drama that doesn't call itself Reality TV.
