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"Drop Dead Diva" More at IMDbPro »

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28 reviews in total

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48 out of 53 people found the following review useful:
Wonderful new series on Lifetime, 21 July 2009

Author: blanche-2 from United States

"Drop Dead Diva" is a new series on Lifetime. The pilot is very enjoyable, mainly because of the star, Brooke Elliot, who is fabulous. She plays a brilliant, highly successful attorney, Jayne, who pays no attention to her appearance - she's on the heavy side, and her hair is long with no style. One night, she stays late at the office, and a man, angry with one of the partners, comes in with a gun. She is killed. At the same moment of her death, a shallow, pencil thin, blonde beauty named Deb is driving to an audition to be a prize demonstrator on The Price is Right and crashes while putting on lipstick. Upset that she's dead, once in heaven, she hits a "return" button when the check-in person isn't looking. She ends up with Jayne's body, Jayne's brains, and her own memory.

I love the premise - it's been used in movies before, but usually seriously. Some of the scenes are great, including when Deb first sees herself as Jayne, Jayne trying to get into Deb's clothes - I won't spoil it for you. Since Deb has inherited Jayne's brain power, she's thrilled that she's now smart, and certainly knows how to deal with competitive women, which Jayne did not. I love how Elliot incorporates Deb's bubbly personality beneath the person of Jayne.

Very well cast, with Margaret Cho as Jayne's assistant and Kate Levering, a talented Broadway actress, as Deb's friend Kim.

Great fun, and I'm so happy that Lifetime has been branching out from its women in jeopardy theme.

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41 out of 51 people found the following review useful:
Really great!, 20 July 2009

Author: flowerwings from United Kingdom

I caught the pilot of this show today without very high expectations, but it was actually really great and really amusing, with a fun soundtrack and interesting setting. Brooke Elliott is great as Deb in Jayne's body, the switch she portrayed between the characters was subtle but apparent, and she is very likable. The supporting cast are also all very strong. The writers do well in drawing the audience in, I already care about these characters after one 40 minute episode. Having told myself I am going to watch much less TV, and dropping about 50% of the shows I used to watch regularly, the fact that I plan to continue watching Drop Dead Diva shows how entertaining the pilot was. I'm looking forward to seeing more of what this show has to offer, and I hope it continues to deliver and develop into a great series.

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23 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
charming acting, interesting characters, 28 July 2009

Author: BeanMak-1 from United States

What a FUN show. The plot is familiar but well worked. Brooke Elliot is delightful to watch! She captures the flirty sorority girl trapped in a plus sized body with panache. The rest of the cast is delivers interesting performances and I really want to get to know them all. It will be interesting to watch the development of her guardian angel as he figures out life on earth. The court cases are interesting to observer. I usually avoid Lifetime and its sentimental disease of the week programming, but I am seeking this show out. I hope that they will be able to sustain their great start. I am not sure if it is being picked for more episodes, but I hope this show has a long run!

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26 out of 29 people found the following review useful:
Excellent and really enjoyable, 25 September 2009

Author: audrulyte from Lithuania

I simply love this new TV show and wish it would last for more than just a season or two like some other great shows I loved and that were off. Anyway, let's talk about Drop Dead Diva. Actually, my first reaction to the show, or frankly to the TITLE of the show, was kind of "What a nonsense they're putting on". Hello!? I could not have been wrong more here. Not a nonsense. Quite on the contrary. One can not only get a nice law story per episode, but also gets a share of really great performance here as well as really lovable characters. I loved and love a lot of TV shows (most of them already ended), but since my late teens I for the first time am really thrilled with the main character of the TV show, as well as I can well put myself in almost every position she's in (except, huh, for having your soul trapped in a wrong body). It's like in many TV shows and movies we only get these 'super white big smile nice body' actors and actresses which all look great and at the same time almost the same and just as unreal as Santa to any grown-up, but this time we are getting this new character which is awesome, beautiful, and at the same time just like me, you or someone next to you. And I really love that. Long live the show as there is one fan for you here already

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17 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
DDD has its charm !, 30 October 2009

Author: Moongate2000 from Vienna

Even though I'm not among the typical target group of this show I like "Drop Dead Diva" season one. From my perspective this show did a lot right, starting with a more than just likable, talented cast and nicely written often touching stories.

"DDD" is a show trying to prove that there's always more than meets the eye. For example on the one hand we got Jane. She's not the type of woman who meets typical TV beauty ideals. Her body in combination with the personality of Deb - at first sight the "typical" young blonde woman - two stereotype extreme's meet. But when you learn to know her better, I'd say it's hard not to like her(especially during the second half of season one, when she's becoming emotionally more stable). Then there's Stacy. At the first glance I didn't like her. Turns out this is a truly wonderfully written character, getting funnier with every episode. In my opinion the best character of the show. I can't imagine "DDD" without her.

As for now female characters are definitely leading the show. I think that male characters could use a little more space to develop beyond their surface. Another aspect bothering me: "Drop Dead Diva" starts with this angel/heaven/return button plot. A Setup where anything seems possible. Unfortunately most of the time the show doesn't make use of these possibilities. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed many of them very very much but if it goes on like that it might risk to become like other lawyer TV-shows or remind of films like "Legally Blonde".

In short: "Drop Dead Diva" is lovely, positive and life-affirming. Good people doing the right thing, while confronting prejudices, stereotypes and other social injustices. Sometimes it reminded me of "Ally McBeal" - probably not as great and funny as Ally during it's best times, but it's doing quiet a fine job!

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15 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Brooke Elliott, the new "It" Girl, 5 October 2009

Author: GoldenVeil from United States

Like Tom Hanks, Brooke Elliott has "that certain something", that very few actors have. It has to do with Likability. She exudes a very pleasant charm. She makes it easy to believe that a sweet, model-aspiring airhead has inhabited a high power attorney and has access to her rapid-firing brain cells. I like it that the Jane Bingum character has a golden moral compass and yet is playful like a Sex in the City girl. Kudos to the creator and writers for creating a character that is like a real person. The Jane Bingum character reveals great sensitivity and vulnerability along with areas of great strength and fortitude. This is no "one note" character like the many that usually populate series TV shows. Drop Dead Diva is both high drama and wry comedy by virtue of its excellent writers. But, where would this show be without Brooke Elliott? It will be interesting to see what she does next. I predict a smart producer or director will cast her in a movie on the big screen very soon.

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14 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
Brooke Elliott is a Delight!, 25 July 2009

Author: ZoZo13 from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I rarely watch Lifetime because their programs, in my opinion, always seem like the same, lame, made-for-women schmaltz. But I have to state that "Drop Dead Diva" was so very good! We've seen many movies with this plot: two people die at the same time but one person's soul enters the other's body and has to live that life. Brooke Elliott is delightful as the plump woman who winds up with a thin, empty-headed, self-absorbed woman's soul. I love the way she discovers her new self after a tragic accident and is quite convincing. Elliott is so cute as she enters this new world as a thin soul in a plump body. Her laugh is contagious. Her pain is convincing when in a moment of clarity she finds out how other people suffer. The producers of this show so far have not made it too preachy (don't judge people by their appearance), or too lightweight (they don't spend too much time on the thin woman's life). If this program continues to focus on "Jane" in the here and now without lots of flashbacks on the other woman...they have a hit on their hands. I love the thin friend too. She's adjusted and accepted her friend in a new form.

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12 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
I like this show and think most people will enjoy it, 19 October 2009

Author: muchcashflow from United States

I love this show! My sister is the one who turned me onto this. She was visiting and while I worked she spent a lot of time watching TV and movies. Anyway one day she kept bugging me to watch this show she DVR'd. It sounded idiotic to me, but I gave in. And I was hooked. I always set my DVR to record it now.

This show is so funny and witty. I like all the cast members, no one is overly annoying, even Kim can be OK at times. I can't wait for the next season. I hope this show stays on too, my sister also got me hooked on Kyle XY and Veronica Mars and both of those great shows were canceled. I hope this show can hang in there and get the viewers it deserves.

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10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Deep, engaging and fun!, 1 July 2011

Author: breezymoon1 from United States

Between the excellent cast that seems to mesh so well together, the clever, poignant and fast-paced fun scripts, and constantly interesting subject matter, this show is ready to become Classic TV.

Jane is so cute, and such an excellent actress, Stacy is just adorably ditzy, and such a great co-star/supporting actress. She just seems so genuine, like anyone would want her as a friend, and so true to Jane.

All of the acting is superb, and how they jive with each other seems completely unscripted, and real.

Every episode catches me, so I mourn when it's over. It's the perfect mix of light and fun, with deep and thought-provoking. Please don't make us wait so long for the next season!!! Lifetime should advertise this more in other forums, and on other channels, this show could really make them money.

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Not your average TV show, 26 February 2011

Author: SteffieB from Massachusetts

OK, you KNOW if Margaret Cho is involved, there will be some decent writing. As much as I like the show, Cho's is my favorite character. She fires up any scene she's in. Wait, no Fred is my favorite character. And Grayson. And Jane! Everybody's interesting, seriously, and the acting is really right on. The premise is Freaky Friday meets LA Law, but add in a guardian angel, smart chicks, models, and fresh story lines.. and hey, you've got my attention. Drop Dead Diva is unpredictable, but with the likable hooks surrounding romance, achieving partner, and beauty. You can stream it on Netflix, which is slightly addictive. So beware.

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