Ever since her supporting role on the sitcom Reba, JoAnna Garcia’s been courted by TV producers and networks. Now it’s CBS’ turn to gift her what we’ve all been waiting for: the right show.
Back a few months ago, we talked about JoAnna Garcia’s Next Big Break: a comedy pilot so hot that the various networks actually had a bidding war over it (ABC ‘won’…and that’s the last anyone’s heard of it). Since then, the perky young actress has had a series of series (so to speak) since the highly successful Reba that just haven’t clicked, including unremembered classics like Welcome to the Captain, Privileged, and Better Than You. Not that she hasn’t had fans–she’s got People In High Places who continually route for her (thus the ongoing series placements)…and still, no new Reba. She kept BUSY and in the public eye between those gigs, too, with an arc on Gossip Girl and the recurring character of Dr. Nina Greene on USA’s Royal Pains.
So let’s hope that this newest news is the tipping point. Deadline.com has just announced that she’s been cast in the new Greg Berlanti/Greg Malins Series (as yet untitled) for CBS–a romantic comedy in which Garcia will play Wendy, the best friend and long-time business partner to the series’ central lead, The twist? Nick has a health scare and finally realized that Wendy is “the one,” the only girl for him…and now he has to figure out how to ‘move to the next level’ with her…without destroying his friendship (or his livelihood) in the process.
The project itself is proof that people who’ve worked with her really like JoAnna Garcia; one of the co-creators of the new comedy was show-runner on her last sitcom, ABC’s Better Without You. She’s smart; she’s talented, and networks have been chasing her for years. So let’s hope that JoAnna Garcia’s ship, the one that’s been tantalizingly close to shore for a couple of years now, finally comes in.
More on the sitcom as it gets a name of its own…and more on Garcia as well.
