TVSquad

On the theory that it worked for another actress who play Tracy Turnblad, Marissa Jaret Winokur is going to star in her own daytime talk show, just like Ricki Lake before her. (Can Nikki Blonsky be next?)

Marissa J, who's currently spinning, twirling and trying to look graceful on Dancing With the Stars, will be developing a syndicated yakker (industry talk for talk show) for Sony Pictures Television. The fact that another company is also doing the same thing for Marie Osmond means one thing: producers think that if you can dance, you can talk. That's a show business axiom, isn't it? Her show, if it flies, will be for fall 2009.

Sony has dipped in syndication before with the Wayne Brady Show, which failed to click but did win the star a Daytime Emmy. Marissa is already an award winner, grabbing the 2003 Tony as Best Actress in a musical for playing Tracy in the Broadway version of Hairspray opposite Harvey Fierstein.

On Dancing, she's made some news not for winning (yet), but for announcing that she's having a baby with her husband Judah. Marissa isn't carrying the child, though. She has a surrogate. In 2001 she had cervical cancer and is unable to bear children naturally.

Marissa has appeared on TV in the forgettable Pam Anderson series Stacked in 2006, and she's done voice work on King of the Hill and American Dad. She's very talented, very personable, has a story that's very relateable to women and will soon be a new mom. She could be a terrific choice for a talk show. As good as Marie or Kirstie Alley or Paula Deen or the other names that have been circulated of late. She's also a fresh face, someone who can emerge as a bigger star thanks to a daily show. My guess is that they'll put her in situations more like Rosie O'Donnell than Ricki Lake, though. I see a format that's not about talking with troubled teens (Ricki) but inviting stars on to promote and maybe sing or do a bit.