TBS commits to ‘Mary Hartman’ remake on show creator Norman Lear’s 99th birthday

In a statement, Norman Lear (pictured last week in Hollywood) said, “The kick of kicks as I turn 99 today is learning that TBS is developing ‘MHMH’ and will allow us to make a new version of it starring Emily Hampshire.”Amy Sussman/Getty Images

That “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” reboot has found a home. It will be on TBS, home of “Chad,” “Miracle Workers,” and “The Last O.G.”

The show is from Emily Hampshire of “Schitt’s Creek,” who will co-write and star as Mary, and “Letterkenny” creator Jacob Tierney. Here’s the twist on the 1976-77 original, which starred Louise Lasser as the pig-tailed American housewife in a daze from the modern ills of consumerism: The new Mary will be a small-town woman who feels empty and lost until she becomes “someone” on social media when her breakdown goes viral.

I’m curious, and I love Hampshire, who seems like a perfect Mary. But I’m wary, as I am with all reboots like this. The sweet part is that show creator and TV visionary Norman Lear is here to enjoy the reemergence of the show. The TBS commitment arrived on his 99th birthday.

“The kick of kicks as I turn 99 today is learning that TBS is developing ‘MHMH’ and will allow us to make a new version of it starring Emily Hampshire,” Lear said in a statement. “As someone who believes his 99 years on this planet is owed to the amount of laughter he enjoyed through the years, here’s to the next 99. Bless you all!”