Sutton Foster Re-invents Herself, and a TV Network, with Younger 

A new series from Darren Star gives Broadway vet Sutton Foster a chance to be edgy, and TV Land an opportunity for a bit of rebranding.

On a wet, snowy morning back in December, at some kind of warehouse/armory/event space in DUMBO, a hip party was in full swing. Well, partial swing, at least: there was no music, and everyone’s drinks were fake. I’d been invited to the set of TV Land’s new series,

, a Darren Star-created comedy that represents a big-ish change for the cable network. The scene being shot was a “Hot Mitzvah,” a Bat Mitzvah for an adult, a young adult, who’d missed or botched (it wasn’t quite clear) her big day back when she was 13. There was a neon Star of David on the wall, and twiggy, chiseled model types everywhere, in yarmulkes and party dresses, all chattering and sneaking glances at the show’s stars between takes.

It was a pretty uneventful series of shots being filmed over and over again, some sort of mid-party squabble or negotiation, but there was nonetheless a fizz of excitement tingling in the room. After all, Broadway royalty Sutton Foster was on set, as the series lead, as was Hilary Duff, one-time queen of the millennials. And then there was Star, the man behind

, peering at monitors with veteran TV director Tricia Brock (

its vibrant flourishes of sometimes insane style. All together, this creative team is at the vanguard of a network makeover, as TV Land cancels popular, boomer laff riots like

to court a younger, hipper audience—while still keeping the middle-agers in mind.

, which premieres March 31, is about a woman, Liza, who’s newly 40 and divorced, broke with a New Jersey house she needs to sell, and a teenage daughter who’s just left her to do an exchange program in India. Liza is alone and in need of a job, but soon learns that trying to reenter the world of Manhattan publishing, which she left in order to raise her daughter, as a woman of a certain age is near about impossible. Everyone she meets is young and patronizing, or expects her to be. So, when one marketing exec, Diana (the great Miriam Shor), mistakes her for one of these entitled millennials, Liza, with the encouragement of her freewheeling, city-dwelling lesbian artist friend Maggie (Debi Mazar!), decides to run with it. She makes herself over and tries to pass as a 26-year-old. She befriends a cool co-worker, Kelsey (Duff), and even meets cute with a hot tattoo artist in Brooklyn, Josh (Nico Tortorella). What’s old is, y’know, young again.

So it’s a pretty meta show to kick off the rebranding of a network known mostly for old reruns, and new sitcoms starring people from old reruns. In that way,

can, at first, strain itself a little too hard, its pop-culture references clever but labored, each snappy sex joke landing discordantly amid the show’s hurried gloss. But eventually, somewhere in the early episodes,

finds its genial, silly groove. Star uses his connections, and the conveniences of New York City, to land some fun guest stars (Jane Krakowski is a particular hoot), while the main cast bounces along with easy charm.

None more bouncy than Sutton Foster, who can use her long limbs and expressive face to swan around gracefully onstage—just look at her sexy, hoofin’-it Reno Sweeney in

, which earned her a second Tony—but is a real goof when everything’s up-close and on-camera. But it’s a good kind of goofy; it’s genuine, and welcoming. During a longer filming break, while the younger cast sat in their directors chairs fiddling on their phones, Foster was talking on hers, trying to settle some issue with her bank, like grown-ups have to do. She then took some time to sit down and talk with me, confessing, after I started rambling about millennial culture, that she didn’t really know what a “millennial” was.

She’s not sure what generation she is, either. “I turned 40 in March, so I don’t even know what I am,” she told me. But when it comes to today's twentysomethings, she marvels at what a strange new world it is. “It’s a whole different thing. Fashion, music, television programs.” (Yes, she says “programs.”) And she’s only recently stumbled upon the world of hipsters. “We spent time in Brooklyn, and the whole ‘hipster’ thing, I went, Oh it’s like a thing! I had no idea. I was very taken aback. I felt like I’d been under a rock. I’ve now become that person who still wears the boot-cut pant, the wrong jeans, whatever, who I never thought I would be. I’m not up to date at all.”

Which makes her probably the perfect actress to play smart, sorta guileless Liza. It also helps that Foster comes pre-loaded with a devoted fan base, from her Broadway work, of course, but also her last TV program, ABC Family’s

, whose cancellation in 2013 was met with outrage from its limited but loyal audience. Though,

. It’s Darren Star, so it’s a little edgy, a little sexy, whereas

was more quirky-sweet. But that shift is more exciting to Foster than it is concerning. “I’ve done things on [

] that I’ve never done before. As I’m transitioning in my career, it’s fun to play a character who . . . I would say that Liza is a pretty straight-laced type of a gal, she’s not

risqué. But this show definitely pushes her envelope and pushes mine.”

As TV Land transitions, so does Foster, and so does Liza. It all works in perfect synergy. But Foster is careful to not lose sight of where exactly she fits into all this courting of youth culture. “I’m perfectly content with my age and where I’m at,” she told me. “All of a sudden I looked up one day and realized, Oh shit, I’m 40, wow. And now I’m no longer the ingenue, or the go-to ingenue part. I’m in massive transition. This role is really fun, because I get to kind of live in that world, but yet, I’m very much not playing a 26-year-old.” Nor is TV Land re-inventing itself as ABC Family, or MTV. They’re instead trying to bridge some gap, between mom and millennial. And it’s a promising change, judging from this first effort, anyway.

is an airy, often witty series that may not be a revolution for anyone but TV Land, but is a nice platform for some appealing actresses (Duff, shaky in the pilot, grows more confident as the series goes on), plus a sparkly little showcase for New York, that metropolis of perpetual youth.

Foster has made some discoveries filming in the city. “I haven’t spent that much time in Brooklyn, so it’s been kind of neat, to go to all these new corners.” But that doesn’t mean she’ll be hitting the town too often with Duff, or Tortorella, or the rest of the pretty young things she works with. “I don’t feel like there’s this huge generation gap,” she says of her co-stars. “But I realized they can probably go out and party and hang out and do things, while I’m playing Scrabble and paying my mortgage.” Well, at least there was this fake party they could all enjoy together, even if it was at 10 A.M.

Richard LawsonRichard Lawson is a columnist for Vanity Fair's Hollywood, reviewing film and television and covering entertainment news and gossip. He lives in New York City.

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