IFC is developing Gigi’s Bucket List, a new series that finds actor David Krumholtz decked out in makeup and prosthetics to play a 72-year-old Jewish grandmother. Krumholtz—who you’d think would be far enough along in his diverse TV and film career that we’d stop thinking of him as Bernard the dour elf from The Santa Clause—will play Gigi, a ribald, sassy Boca Raton retiree who discovers millions of dollars hidden in her late husband’s bank accounts and decides to live out her dreams.
Krumholtz originally played the character, based on a long-standing impression of his own grandmother, on the comedy site Weather From. There, he would present viewers with digressive, sometimes vulgar monologues from Gigi, each tailored to their local weather conditions. Weather From was partially developed by Ricky Mabe and Zach Golden, whose Grandma’s House Entertainment is working with Krumholtz to develop the new show.
IFC is obviously taking a gamble here by basing a series on as untested an archetype as an elderly Jewish woman with no fear of voicing her strong, comical opinions. Still, if nothing else, Gigi should provide nostalgic comfort to everyone currently missing their own Jewish, pussy-joke-telling grandmas, or anyone who grew up on episodes of The Golden Girls and associates Bea Arthur’s voice with home.