The New York Times’ David Itzkoff writes an interesting if somewhat meandering profile of several women starring in brand-new shows this fall, including Zooey Deschanel, Whitney Cummings, Kat Dennings, Krysten Ritter, and Amber Heard. Each performer has a differing opinion about why there seems to be more TV-untested actresses heading up prominent new shows this year, though superior writing, a noticeable decrease in fulfilling feature film roles and the ever-shifting culture zeitgeist are offered as explanations. The Playboy Club’s Laura Benanti really takes A to C when trying to explain it how the premise of her show (being a Playboy Bunny) is, in actuality, the reason we’ll have new sitcoms this year. “It’s because of women like this who are creating options for themselves that you get to have shows like Whitney,†Benanti explains. Meanwhile, I can’t even. Or maybe, as Kat Dennings puts it, the answer is much more simple: “Women are supposed to be mysterious, and there’s a veil you don’t cross, but vagina jokes are just gold, man.â€
