New sitcom ensures Lauren Ash’s career is ‘Not Dead Yet’
Not only is “Not Dead Yet” a new series for Lauren Ash, it presents a new Lauren Ash.
The “Superstore” alum has changed her appearance drastically, evident as ABC debuts her latest sitcom Wednesday, Feb. 8. She plays the new boss of a journalist (portrayed by Gina Rodriguez, television’s former “Jane the Virgin”) who restarts her career, and the only related job she can find is handling obituaries – with which she gets unexpected help from the ghosts of those she writes about. Hannah Simone (“New Girl”) and Rick Glassman (“As We See It”) also are among cast regulars.
Ash’s character Lexi wasn’t a part of the original “Not Dead Yet” concept, adapted from Alexandra Potter’s book “Confessions of a 40-Something F–- -up,” but the friendly actress says she felt the revised pilot script “really blended comedy and heart. My favorite things to do on ‘Superstore’ were those rooted-in-heart moments, and that speaks to me in general. I laughed out loud at the beginning, then I was getting teary by the end, and I thought it would be such a wonderful gift to be a part of.”
Additionally, Ash was attracted by Lexi being “so different from what I’d been doing for so long. There’s the stakes of her wanting to impress her dad, because she has lived such a privileged life in so many ways, she doesn’t necessarily have the kind of work ethic or tenacity you would need to be successful in running a newspaper in the current climate.”
Also an executive producer of “Not Dead Yet,” Rodriguez was mentioned when Ash received the offer. The latter reflects that under that circumstance, “I don’t know how bad the script would have to be for me to say, ‘No!’ She is one of the greatest human beings alive, on top of being uber-talented. It’s truly such a pleasure and a joy every day.”
“Not Dead Yet” boasts many “name” guest stars in its initial episodes, including Martin Mull, Ed Begley Jr., Rhea Perlman, Brittany Snow and “Saturday Night Live” alum Julia Sweeney. Ash has come to the show with a very obvious weight loss since her last steady television job, a transformation she attributes to “cutting stress out of my life.”
Ash recalls that “it was almost 18 months exactly between ‘Superstore’ wrapping filming and my starting this, and I don’t think I realized how much I missed it until I got back to it. I had been writing and developing a bunch of different projects during those 18 months, which was great – but by the end, when this came, I was ready. I was like, ‘I need to go back to work! This is what I do.’ “