US network, the ABC, has just given two big thumbs up to a new show starring Alyson Hannigan in a lead role. FINALLY!
The new series, Man of The House, will see Alyson, 43, play one of two divorced sisters who move in with one another to help each other raise their cohort of kids. Think The Brady Bunch meets Hope & Faith.
The show will be penned by Vijal Patel (Black-ish) and Frank Pines (of Baby Daddy fame), and produced by none other than Kerry Washington. Yes!
But back to Alyson.
It’s officially been 30 years since we first saw the red-headed actress appear on screen in the 1988 movie, My Stepmother Is An Alien. Since then, she’s gone on to star in a series of productions and films – some of which have become the defining shows and movies of our generation.
With a rap sheet that includes everything from Buffy The Vampire Slayer to How I Met Your Mother, the American Pie films and even stints on That 70s Show and Veronica Mars, Alyson has been a Hollywood staple for more than three decades.
But here’s the thing – the opportunities she’s been given have always been in the form of ensemble casts, guest spots, supporting roles, or quirky oddball characters that are good for a few laughs and that’s about it.
While it really doesn’t appear to be a case of ageism (she’s worked consistently since the age of 11), there is a typecasting issue worth considering when looking at her stop-start journey to the top.
Happy for her but she’ll always be Lily
— FUCK YOUR MERCY (@MattLight19) March 1, 2018
Audiences are primarily used to seeing Alyson in the funny role – first as Willow on Buffy and then later as Lily Aldrin in How I Met Your Mother. Her character in the American Pie films spawned one of the most famous movie lines of the century, “this one time at band camp”, but again, only provided Alyson with a one-dimensional character that has made it difficult for viewers to ever consider her in a serious role.
It’s difficult to sell mainly television actors to film audiences, especially when the actor has been on screens weekly for more than a decade. And in Alyson’s case, that couldn’t be more accurate.
Also, for the sake of saying it out loud – let’s not forget Alyson has never been marketed or sold to audiences as a sex symbol. So, by the nature of Hollywood, that automatically cancels her out from most major roles and opportunities.
Since How I Met Your Mother finished in 2014, Alyson has been a part of a handful of projects with potential (the CBS series More Time With Family and a television adaptation of The First Wives Club), but they’ve all ultimately ended in cancellations or haven’t been able to get off the ground. That is, until now.
Bring on Man of The House and give this girl the opportunity to prove her range is more than a hyper-sexual band geek or nerd turned mega witch.
Let’s just hope the ABC gets this one right – come on guys, Alyson deserves it.