Karen Gillan, a Scottish actress so appealing she *almost* got me to watch “Doctor Who” regularly, is eying her first American network TV series gig.
Gillan has been cast in the lead role in ABC’s comedy pilot “Selfie,” which comes from “Suburgatory” creator Emily Kapnek and from Warner Bros. Television.
The series focuses on the a 20-something woman with the vaguely Shavian name of Eliza Dooley. Eliza (Gillan) is, to use the official character description, “more concerned with ‘likes’ than being liked.” When an ugly breakup leads to Eliza becoming the subject of a viral video, she realizes that social media notoriety isn’t so great if you’re famous for the wrong reasons. To-wit, she enlists the help of a marketing expert to help her rebuild her image.
I rather desperately hope that the marketing expert’s name is Henry Higs or something, just so that people will be able to properly get the “Pygmalion”-y undertones to “Selfie.”
I’ve confirmed that Eliza is not, alas, Scottish, meaning that Gillan will be doing an American accent in the single-camera half-hour. Oh well. We’ll always have hours of interview clips on YouTube. [With David Tennant doing “Gracepoint” for FOX, tis the season for Scottish “Doctor Who” veterans trying out their American accents.]
Best known for her tenure as companion Amy Pond on “Doctor Who,” Pond’s most recent TV credit was a regular role on Adult Swim’s “NTSF:SD:SUV::.”
Tuesday (February 18) is a big day for Gillan. In addition to the announcement of her “Selfie” role, she may or may not be spotted as Nebula in the first full trailer for “Guardians of the Galaxy.” The “Guardians” trailer drops on Tuesday evening. “Guardians” hits theaters on August 1, 2014.
In this awesome clip, Gillan discusses residing in America, her American accent and she says “tater tots.” You’re welcome.
Intrigued? By “Selfie,” I mean.