ABC “Selfie”
KAREN GILLAN, JOHN CHO
Credit: ABC
Scottish actress Karen Gillan (“Doctor Who”) went to SoulCycle in L.A. to research her American accent for “Selfie,” an upcoming ABC comedy. She is totally convincing in character as a vapid Valley Girl. The new series from Emily Kapnek (“Suburgatory”) is a romantic comedy, intended as an update on Pygmalion/My Fair Lady.
The comedy speaks to “the disease” Eliza Dooley (Gillan) has, in terms of being too reliant on her cellphone, hooked on social media, and incapable of polite human interaction.
“I’m on Twitter. And Grinder,” said John Cho (“Go On”), who plays Henry.
“Selfie” continues the ABC emphasis on diversity in casting, and does so seemingly effortlessly, without calling attention to the concept.
“The casting process was pretty extensive,” Kapnek said. Initially she assumed Henry would be several generations older and English. “Once we opened our minds and said letap get off of who we think Henry is supposed to be…I think it was ABC who brought the idea of Cho to the table.”
Cho may be the first Asian romantic comedy lead on a network TV series (he was born in Seoul, Korea, raised in L.A.).
