Padma Lakshmi, sitcom star? Not so fast. Last week,
Variety reported that the
Top Chef host would create and star in her own culinary-themed NBC sitcom, possibly titled
Single Serving. But Lakshmi tells
TVGuideMagazine.com exclusively that her comic soufflé hasn't quite risen yet.
What can you tell us about the new sitcom?It is very early days. We’re still looking for a writer. We’re taking our time. We want to do it right. And it’s an ensemble cast—I’m not starring in it. I will have a recurring role in it, but I have too much to do on
Top Chef as well as my jewelry company. I started that all with my own personal finances, and I’m very committed to making that a success, so it becomes an issue of how to divide one’s time.
Why won't you be the star of the show?Putting my producer hat on, I want to do what’s best for the show. That means getting the best actress for the job, and that may not be me for that particular role. But there are a lot of roles in the story. I’m very thankful that NBC gave me a chance, but that’s what it is, and we’ll see what happens. As we all know, it’s very, very, very rare and special when something even makes it on air, let alone becomes something like a
Will & Grace or
Mary Tyler Moore. It’s really premature, and while all the attention is flattering, it’s also very daunting. I just want to do the work that’s required and put my head down and hope that we can come up with something really great.
Does the general premise relate to cooking? A single woman in a culinary environment?There’s a culinary environment, but we’re not sure exactly how that’ll play out. I’m happy to say something about it when we decide, but anything I say now is going to be conjecture, even coming from my own mouth—even though I’m the creator and the producer of it. It’s a work in progress. I just don’t want to jinx it, to be honest.