Call the (fashion) police: The Joan Rivers limited series is no longer happening.
On Tuesday, Oct. 26, Variety reported that the highly anticipated series—called The Comeback Girl—starring Kathryn Hahn as the legendary comedian had been tabled at Showtime. The series was set to be directed and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, who is best known for producing TV hits such as The Flight Attendant, You, Riverdale, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and more.
According to the publication, there was an issue with securing the rights to tell Joan’s story. Specifically, producers didn’t secure the life rights that are currently held by Joan’s daughter, Melissa. Without this permission, the series wouldn’t have been able to use any of Joan’s best jokes or her famous catchphrase, “Can we talk?”
This update is, of course, surprising, as Kathryn’s planned portrayal of Joan was announced just last month. The casting garnered quite the reaction, including Sarah Silverman‘s disapproval of Kathryn, a Catholic-raised actress, booking the role.
“One could argue, for instance, that a Gentile,” Sarah said on her podcast, “playing Joan Rivers correctly would be doing what is actually called ‘Jewface.”
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