HBO Gives Molly Shannon Another Chance to Find Sitcom Glory

Molly Shannon is known for playing awkward and misinformed characters who compensate for their shortcomings with spurts of confidence. She's fantastic at playing them: In 2000, she became only the third female Saturday Night Live cast member to earn an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. But now that she's slated to star in a new HBO comedy about an ex-nun trying to adjust to the uncloistered world, her-post SNL career begs the question: Does her brand of comedy make sense in series format?

Of course, Shannon has enjoyed memorable stints on a number of sitcoms: Her one-off on Seinfeld as a woman who drove Elaine Benes nuts because her arms didn't swing was hilarious, and her continued appearances as Grace's foe Val Bassett on Will & Grace exhibited her signature delirium. But it's impossible to shake the memory of Kath & Kim, her solid mother-daughter NBC sitcom that failed to connect with viewers, or her recent Glee guest-starring role as Sue's nemesis Brenda Castle, a role that began with a lot of blog hype, but yielded very little screen time and was then forgotten about altogether.

One could argue Shannon's brand of humor is best suited for sketch work -- her characters are caricatures, and skits usually provide enough space to take such roles to a logical resolve. But it's difficult to say whether that mania translates to characters we grow to know over a series, since their appeal is in establishing themselves as a recognizable, if cartoonish "type." Once that's accomplished, where is there to evolve? Kath & Kim was a sharply written comedy, but Shannon's role delivered as much furrowed-brow sincerity as any of one of her SNL characters -- and perhaps that kind of batty earnestness is best explored in a less formal format than sitcom. Judging by the description of her role in this HBO ex-nun comedy -- a virgin who leaves the convent after 20 years -- we'll be seeing plenty more of her hapless sincerity.

What do you think? Is Molly Shannon's character type sustainable in series form?

· HBO developing ex-nun comedy starring Molly Shannon [Deadline]