From left: Vanessa Williams, Tichina Arnold, Fiona Gubelmann, Camille Guaty and Chloe Bridges
In the satirical comedy-drama series “Daytime Divas,” five distinctly different women host a lunchtime talk show, barely concealing the chaotic lives they lead off-camera.
Created by sisters Amy and Wendy Engelberg (“Drop Dead Diva”), the TV “dramedy” pokes fun at clashing personalities and talk-show shenanigans, inspired by former “The View” cohost Star Jones’ book, “Satan’s Sisters.”
Vanessa Williams stars as Maxine, creator of the program “The Lunch Hour.” The go-getter who fancies herself as Oprah Winfrey’s rival often butts heads with her comedienne cohost Mo (Tichina Arnold), who makes no secret of her ambition to lead the group. Other cohosts get involved in the catfights on the air and off, and have issues of their own to contend with.
Ex-child star Kibby (Chloe Bridges) is a troubled, “sexually fluid” celeb hounded by the paparazzi. Investigative journalist Nina (Camille Guaty) has an affair with Maxine’s producer son, Shawn (McKinley Freeman), while the religious Heather (Fiona Gubelmann) keeps her cross-dressing son a secret.
Much of the goings-on in the show (Sony Channel, Wednesdays, 8:50 p.m.) reflect the gimmickry and pageantry many real-life talk shows come up with to attract viewers. In the first episode, the ladies briefly wear swimsuits onstage, which aims to empower, but is also partly done to boost ratings.
The dramatic subplots and catty conflicts are reminiscent of scandalous storylines from “Desperate Housewives” and “UnReal.” Kibby lives dangerously, as she and her girlfriend hook up with a substance-abusing guy. Heather wears heavy concealer, hinting that she hides bruises connected to marital abuse. And Mo is blackmailed by a younger production assistant (Niko Pepaj), who threatens to release their sex tape.
Things take a campy turn when Maxine, during a secret beauty procedure, becomes comatose, leaving a vacuum that the opportunistic Mo is only too happy to fill.
That evolving power struggle and various indiscretions that threaten to be exposed are often hilarious, the disparate female perspectives easily illustrating the strengths and struggles that come with the territory.
But, in yet another amusing twist, Maxine recovers from her coma, deciding to secretly scheme against her perceived and actual backstabbers—and all of these happen in only the first episode! The all-female dynamic’s allure may draw in fans of such real and sometimes-controversial talk-show casts.
Vanessa Williams reminds us of her previous comedic stint in “Ugly Betty” with her similarly self-absorbed and well-dressed diva. But she’s no less enjoyable here, figuring in scenes that wryly spoof celebrities who resort to expensive “miracles” to defy the merciless “onslaught” of age.