‘Older’ Actresses Reign at TCA Tour
Critic: ‘A Particularly Rich Time for Actresses Over the Age of 35’
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 7/16/2007 6:25:00 AM
Beverly Hills, Calif. -- Writers had two favorite questions to pose to panelists last week at the Television Critics Association summer tour.
Cable executives were asked what they thought about the finale of The Sopranos, and actresses were asked again and again what they thought about this being “a particularly rich time for actresses over the age of 35” on TV, as one critic framed the inquiry.
It’s true that cable is now full of dramatic series with “older” women as their protagonists, from Kyra Sedgwick on TNT’s smash hit The Closer to Mary-Louise Parker on Showtime’s Weeds, as USA Today chronicled in a recent story.And the list is getting longer, with Holly Hunter starring in TNT’s Saving Graceto Glenn Close on the docket for FX’s legal drama Damages.
These actresses are playing complex and flawed characters. Like the intriguing male characters of TV -- HBO’s Tony Soprano and Showtime’s Dexter -- these female characters are in effect anti-heroes in some ways because of their reckless sexual dalliances, illegal activities and the way they just enjoy being plain ornery.
One suggestion was that the success of The Closer and ABC’s smash hit Grey’s Anatomy, with its painfully “twisty” and dark main character, opened the door for flawed females as leads on TV series.
On TNT’s Saving Grace panel Sunday, the last day of cable’s part of the TCA tour, feisty Hunter was asked why 40-something women were suddenly getting plenty of work on TV, She initially made light of the question, suggesting that it was a plot.
“Glenn Close and Kyra Sedgwick and Mary-Louise Parker and the women on Sex and the City and I got together about seven years ago, and I was living in New York,” Hunter said, before being interrupted by laughter from the audience.
But she elaborated and made quite a bit of sense.
“It’s undeniable that something is going on, you know, zeitgeist,” Hunter told the TV critics. “But it’s true, that this thing is happening. Often, people go, ‘OK, we’re on the threshold of a big change in the cinema or something,’ and it never really holds true. It’s always just a trend. And hopefully, that’s not the case here. ”
Hunter gave cable credit for the welcome mat being extended to older actresses.
“I actually believe it’s probably because of cable,” she said. “It probably really and truly is that cable has kind of changed the landscape, semi-permanently at least, because it’s a moneymaker, and it happens to be alternative. It happens to be made for less money, and so risks can be greater because less cash is at risk.”
Michael Wright, senior vice president of Turner Entertainment Networks, also chimed in on the subject the sudden abundance of 40-something women in TV now, from his perspective.
“I’d say as an executive, you’re looking for stories always that haven’t been told, and you’re looking for characters that haven’t been explored,” he said.
Now, finally, those stories are being told.
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THANK YOU!!!! As a 44 year old woman just entering the acting world I
feel grateful for the hope this article gives. I have been cursed with the
prophetic phrase "there are no parts for older women" by everyone
(including my psychiatrist) who knows of my career change. Thank God
I've finally grown to the point where what "they" say about me doesn't
define me. In fact, I'm planning to produce my own films in the next few
years. Thank you to the working WOMEN out there for blazing the trail!
Annie Roberts - 7/20/2007 4:15:00 PM EDT -
THANK YOU!!!! As a 44 year old woman just entering the acting world I
feel grateful for the hope this article gives. I have been cursed with the
prophetic phrase "there are no parts for older women" by everyone
(including my psychiatrist) who knows of my career change. Thank God
I've finally grown to the point where what "they" say about me doesn't
define me. In fact, I'm planning to produce my own films in the next few
years. Thank you to the working WOMEN out there for blazing the trail!
Ann B. Roberts - 7/20/2007 4:13:00 PM EDT
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