Jessica Lundy

Heading for Los Angeles in 1990, Lundy snagged the role of an obituary writer who teams with a detective to solve crimes in CBS' "Over My Dead Body" (1990-91). The series, which also starred Edward Woodward, was short-lived, but Lundy bounced back to co-star in the ABC series "Baby Talk " (1991-92) and as a member of the ensemble cast in CBS' "The Carol Burnett Show" (1991) revival. Both shows failed, as did "The Second Half" (NBC, 1993). But the network liked Lundy, and gave her one of the title roles in "Hope & Gloria," a midseason 1995 entry. Cast opposite Cynthia Stevenson's Hope, the ever optimistic associate producer of a local Pittsburgh TV talk show, Lundy was Gloria, twice married and divorced to the same man, who saw life with a sense of realism. The chemistry between the two women worked as audiences liked to see the two female buddies alternating between arguing, supporting each other, and crying on each other's shoulders. Some critics compared the effort to "Kate & Allie," or even the rapport between Mary and Rhoda on the older "Mary Tyler Moore Show." As a result of her work in "Hope & Gloria," Lundy was cast as Tom Arnold's wife in the feature comedy "The Stupids" (1996).