Peter Jacobson, Debra Messing and Joe Mantegna in "The Starter Wife"
courtesy of the USA Network
"The Starter Wife" (The USA Network)

"Will and Grace" star Debra Messing shines in the new limited run series "The Starter Wife" which airs on the US Network. This is an adaptation of the New York Times bestseller by Gigi Levangle Grazer and it chronicles the rise, fall and rise of one Molly Kagan (Messing) as she goes from status wife to abandoned wife and then back again.

Messing "Grace" lessly throws herself into the role of Molly. This woman is no airhead, nor is she a victim. She has a brain and beauty and she knows how to use them. She is also a good friend and a good mother. It takes her a while to absorb the fact that her egotistical husband of ten years, Kenny Kagan (Peter Jacobsen), has dumped her for a much younger woman. She also has to accept the fact that in Hollywood you aren't in if you are on the outs with your more prominent spouse.

Judy Davis plays Joan McAllister, one of Molly's best friends. Davis has a knack for playing off-kilter personalities and that is what she does in this show. Miranda Otto is Cricket Stewart, the more normal of Molly's friends, but she is forced to snub her when the facts of her "dropping" emerge. Anika Nonie Rose plays the gatekeeper at the gated community where Molly retreats.

While living at Joan's beach home for the summer Molly meets a handsome stranger named Sam (Stephen Moyer). Sam may be the answer to Molly's prayers or he might just be a bright interlude on her way to recovery.

Messing is definitely the star of this show and the reason it will rise or fall. She appears in just about every scene and does it all without ever bringing "Grace" to mind. This is a much more serious role for her and she handles it with skill.

"The Starter Wife" premieres on the USA Network on May 31 at 7Pm and airs two hours of the series back to back. Then each Thursday in June it airs a new hour episode at 9PM. The total length of the show is six hours.

This is a show worth watching this summer, so set your TiVo now to make sure you don't miss "The Starter Wife."
 

 

 

 

 

©2007 Jackie K. Cooper

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