Jane Fonda Signs On To ABC Sitcom 'Now What?'

Having played a Ted Turner-esque media mogul in a recurring guest spot in the first season of HBO's "The Newsroom," Jane Fonda is apparently ready to commit to what, if it goes to series, will be her first small screen lead role. As reported by Variety, that part will be in an ABC comedy entitled "Now What?" (a name that just begs for unfortunate headlines, should the show not work out).

Written by Abby Gewanter (a writer on "Pushing Daisies" and "John from Cincinnat"), "Now What?" is a single-camera half-hour project about a young woman who pens a blog post called "Dear Mom, Here's Why I Hate You..." The mother in question, played by Fonda, decides to move in with her daughter in order to force the two of them to work out their problems.

Mike Tollin and Ben Spector are executive producing alongisde Scott Ellis ("2 Broke Girls"), who will also direct.

Fonda played the tough Leona Lansing in four episodes of Aaron Sorkin's latest series, the CEO of the company that owns the cable news network on which Will McAvoy's (Jeff Daniels) show airs, clashing with the protagonist over the content of his revamped hour. Here's Fonda's character telling a joke involving Jesus, Moses and a golf game.