As Adam Rippon routinely demonstrates, being America’s Sweetheart is a grueling gig. There’s the ever-present Olympic bronze medal. Add in a scene-stealing cameo on NPR. And in his spare time, telling a Russian villain to “take his apology… and his Olympic gold medal” and “shove them up his ass.”
So basically, the job can only be filled by someone who combines the skills of Brian Boitano, Terry Gross, and Rocky IV.
If that wasn’t enough, Rippon just added a new job to his resumé: comedy executive producer.
According to Variety, NBC has ordered a script commitment for a comic series set in the world of figure skating. Rippon is listed as one of the show’s EPs along with co-creator and Figure Skating in Harlem board member Susan Kittenplan.
The project, currently known by the imaginative sobriquet “Untitled Figure Skating Comedy,” has also signed on “Grace and Frankie’s” Billy Finnegan to executive produce and compose scripts.
Variety correspondent Joe Otterson describes the premise as depicting “the oversized ambitions, underwhelming talent, and boundless heart as one woman fights her family, failing knees, and every other skater on the ice.”
When Rippon ascended to national sweethearthood during the 2018 Winter Olympics, humor played a big role in his public persona. His routines were loaded with snark and sass, including an epic finger wag at the judges during the Men’s Short Program that made you wish they awarded bonus points for a spot-on Dikembe Mutombo impression.
Then there were his brilliantly improvised and occasionally surreal post-skate interviews with NBC’s Andrea Joyce. Like an inspired comedy team, Joyce fed him straight lines asking how he felt about being supported by both Reese Witherspoon and Elmo and without missing a beat, Rippon responded:
“On the spectrum from Reese Witherspoon to Elmo, I’m excited about a Meryl Streep. Does that make sense?”
And as to his writing chops, this tweet speaks for itself:
With everything going on in the media about me this Valentine’s Day I don’t want people to get distracted and forget how beautiful I am (on the outside)
— Adam Rippon (@AdamRippon) February 14, 2018
If that’s an indication as to what’s coming, the show could be fun.
