Another classic Norman Lear TV series is getting a remake. Sony TV is in development on a new version of Lear’s “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” that would star “Schitt’s Creek” alum Emily Hampshire.
In addition to starring, Hampshire would co-write and executive produce the remake, along with “Letterkenny” creator Jacob Tierney, who would serve as showrunner. Lear would be a producer as well, via his and Brent Miller’s Act III Productions.
Sony is preparing to shop the project to buyers in the coming weeks.
Hampshire takes over the role originally played by Louise Lasser, who earned an Emmy nomination for her performance. The original series, which aired from 1976-77, was a groundbreaking send-up of soap operas and a subversive look into America’s media and consumer culture.
According to Sony, the updated version stars Hampshire as a small-town woman who feels like a nobody in every aspect of her life until she suddenly becomes a “Verified” social media somebody. The remake will update the original series’ satirical look at consumer culture for today’s social media world, where “America’s Typical Consumer Housewife” has now become the product consumed after her nervous breakdown goes viral.
Hampshire is best known for her role as Stevie Budd on Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek,” which ended its 6-year run in 2020. She also previously starred in Tierney’s “The Trotsky” and has appeared in other projects with Tierney, including “Good Neighbors” and “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.”