Meet Alicia “Plum” Kettle, a ghostwriter for one of New York City’s top fashion magazines. She may give perfect advice, but when she looks in the mirror, she feels anything but. In Us Weekly’s exclusive clip of AMC’s new satire comedy, Dietland, Plum (played by Joy Nash) wakes up and deals with her day-to-day life, which includes “apartment, café, Waist Watcher meetings.”
“Everyone calls me succulent and round, also known as fat. It’s OK, I’m allowed to say it,” she says in the beginning of the series. “I’m telling you this from the future, if you haven’t gotten that yet. But don’t think this is one of those stories – I’m still fat, I still get the looks. Like some people would prefer me dead.”
If that sounds dark, it’s because it is. The new series, which comes from UnREAL cocreator Marti Noxon, also stars The Good Wife alum Julianna Margulies as Kitty Montgomery, Plum’s boss. The satire will focus on Plum’s journey, living in New York, being treated poorly by her boss and struggling with her self-image. However, it’s not all about her personal journey, but also about the challenges women face in the world today, from misogyny and beauty standards to rape culture.
“At the same time, everyone is buzzing over news reports about men, accused of sexual abuse and assault, who are disappearing and meeting untimely, violent deaths,” AMC’s synopsis reads. “Plum also finds herself in the middle of two warring factions — one sisterhood who may be responsible for the attacks on male harassers, and the other which preaches female empowerment. She straddles these two groups, trying to make sense of the changing world and her part in it.”
Dietland’s two-hour premiere event airs on AMC Monday, June 4, at 9 p.m. ET.
