When ABC announced its new fall schedule Tuesday, one upcoming comedy series had a notable name change.
A series that’s been developed and piloted as The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport is now titled American Housewife.
The premise: “Katie Otto (Katy Mixon, Mike and Molly, shown in character above), a confident, unapologetic wife and mother of three, raises her flawed family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut, filled with ‘perfect’ mommies and their ‘perfect’ offspring.” The show is written by Sarah Dunn (Spin City).
Asked if the title was changed out of concern about offending people, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey told reporters, “One of the things that Sarah Dunn, who’s the creator of the show, feels is — what we love about the character Katie Otto that’s played by Katy Mixon is that she feels very universal and very relatable. What we love about American Housewife is that it feels that it can speak speak for housewives from New York to Los Angeles, from Boise to Miami, so it feels very universal and that’s part of what we like about the show.”
ABC has a history of provactive titles, such Desperate Housewives, Cougar Town, Trophy Wife and GCB (which stood for “Good Christian Bitches”).
American Housewife will join ABC’s schedule in the fall where it will lead into Modern Family on Wednesday nights.