Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Report: Jennifer Esposito to star in reality pilot for E!

As you may know, actress Jennifer Esposito opened her gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar-free, soy-free, peanut-free, allergy-friendly, organic bakery on East 10th Street on March 2.

Now, as Deadline Hollywood first reported late yesterday afternoon, the proprietor of Jennifer's Way Bakery will film a pilot for E!

Per Deadline: "[T]he pilot will chronicle Esposito’s duties running the place while juggling the other aspects of her life."

Esposito, who was diagnosed with Celiac disease five years ago, will also serve as the executive producer.

Also, per Deadline:

"The untitled project is a spinoff from the cable network’s upcoming docu-reality series 'Playing With Fire,' which premieres Sunday. Esposito is among those featured on the show, which follows the personal lives and careers of tastemakers and chefs inside New York’s culinary scene."

She would join the folks at Obscura Antiques & Oddities on Avenue A as East Village reality TV stars... (and, perhaps, Billy Leroy, now starring in "Baggage Battles.")

h/t EVG reader Gary

Previously on EV Grieve:
Actress Jennifer Esposito's Jennifer's Way Bakery opening soon on East 10th Street (46 comments)

[Photo via the Wikimedia Commons]

25 comments:

Uncle Waltie said...

"gluten-free, dairy-free, refined-sugar-free, soy-free, peanut-free,"
and taste-free.

Hey19 said...

I was giving her the benefit of the doubt here, but this lost it for me.

Anonymous said...

So the whole bakery thing was cover for her to launch a reality show?

Duped again.

Anonymous said...

This proves she's nothing but a big phony. As fake as her botoxed face. She got fired from "Bluebloods" and her ex-husband is on a huge roll and the only way to get any attention is to do this clownshow. Her little stunt against The Bean the other day was about her getting attention. Once the show is finished, the "bakery" will close and some other newjack will move in and pay exorbitant rent. I walked past there the other day and notice these non-EV types in their $200 jeans making crap, reality tv. A pox on all of them. #Phony

Shawn said...

Shame, I was going to go in here to support this place. I'll avoid it now, I don't want to be on a reality TV show.

Anonymous said...

It would have been better had her store been open for more than 10 days before announcing that it is just a setting for a reality show.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

Who knows which idea came first, the pilot or the bakery. But whatever. The "colorful" EV location had to be part of the pitch. Ugh.

Anonymous said...

@Shawn

Why not stop in anyway. Who knows maybe she might be able to draw some attention to you. She seems to like guys. Everytime i pass by she's in there with a bunch of guys.

Anonymous said...

This is worse then awful - this is just down right offensive. Here people think she is opening a bakery to serve the needs of people in the community with serious food allergies and instead she has created a prop or back-drop for a reality TV series. So now the business doesn't even have to be successful at what it does, or what it's supposed mission is, it just needs to make bad TV. I hope the pilot fails miserably and she packs her bags and leaves us alone. These celebrities using our community as a back-drop makes me feel like a zebra at the zoo as opposed to a human being trying to keep some sliver of a real community alive. Her actions are deplorable and perhaps a few of us should show-up when they are filming and give them our own version of an LES reality tv show.

Makeout said...

"Tastemaker". That's what I should've been. Oh well.

Ken from Ken's Kitchen said...

Anon March 13, 2013 at 11:07 AM

Those are some pretty odd reasons to stop in to buy a loaf of bread.

12:04 pm said...

talk about tasteless

Gojira said...

@Anon 11:25 - Yes, great idea about showing up and disrupting the shoot! Many years ago (1981) I ran across the set of a music video being filmed one night on 7th between A and B - an untalented young woman dressed in the height of punk fashion circa 1976 was struggling through a horrific version of "Walk on the Wild Side", as people stopping to observe winced and drifted away. All except for one feisty old homeless guy, who obviously disapproved both of her performance and the situation, and who launched into a booming denunciation of her, her voice, the song, the crew and the whole situation, summoning up his feelings with a final bellow of "Look at me! Check me out! This is the REAL East Village, right here!" Still makes me laugh 32 years later, maybe something like this needs to be in Ms. Esposito's show. Whaddaya think?!?

James C. Taylor said...

I'm disappointed I could be so naive as to not see this news coming...

Anonymous said...

to think I used to like her, she's on my sh** list now

Anonymous said...

I was wondering how many people would be supporting her $4 mini-muffins. Guess she will be getting more than local $$

BagelGuy said...

I wrote her and her bakery off immediately follow that stunt she pulled on The Bean. There's a right way and a wrong way to handle things in life. Publicly shaming or criticizing your neighbor in order to make your own business look good is wrong. If she had issues with the Bean she should have taken them up with the owner discretely first. We are all neighbors here in the east village and most of the shop owners work closely with each other and have each others backs. Calling someone out publicly on their shortcomings is no way to win friends.

Anonymous said...

This is almost funny... Seems if you have an agenda (say, to open a bar or star in a reality show), you just have to open a bakery and wait a week or two. Take notes, people!

Anonymous said...

Man, crap like this makes me glad I live in Virginia now. Hell, my rent is less than a grand, I live in a walkable neighborhood with tons of shops and restaurants and stuff, and I still don't own a car. These people are a bunch of freaking vultures picking over the carcass of the LES.

Uncle Waltie said...

"Here people think she is opening a bakery to serve the needs of people in the community with serious food allergies and instead...."

Serve the needs of people.....Jeez..........it's Hollywood, for Christ's sake.

BT said...

If you want to open a successful bakery - and have the opportunity to have a (lame ass) "reality" TV show feature the business, you'd be stupid not to make it happen.

The busloads of cupcake buyers at Magnolia are testament to the impact of Television.

To me it sounds like she is maximizing her chances of success. The bakery's success.. and her acting success.

Anonymous said...

Who cares about Jennifer Esposito? Her best / best known role was Ruby The Skank in Summer Of Sam released almost 14 years ago, she hasn't done anything of note since, and she was arguably fourth billing at best in that movie which bombed at the box office.

I doubt the store will be a backdrop for a reality tv show all the time as it's not like it'll be a daily or multiweekly show...but wait...a PILOT of the show is being shot, so it's not even a full-fledged show yet. It's auditioning to be a show hence "pilot". It'll be a weekly my guess half-hour or hour-long show and all you people bemoaning tv crews coming in to film the East Village uhhh...they're bringing business to local businesses by ordering takeout and perhaps buying drinks in bars they go to before and after shooting.

Also shut up about how she opened the store just for the show. You don't know that for certain and you would want that for your store/business in a heartbeat if you had any business sense as it helps pay the rent.

-Richie Trengali Age 54

Anonymous said...

Oh giv eme a goddamn break. You all hoot and holler when a semi-celebrity opens up a "gluten free" cake store like it;s the second coming and then go agog when it turns out she does it for a television show? newsflash. She's an actress. That's what they do. Spare me.

Anonymous said...

"Spare yourself"!
It is ridiculous but it is part and parcel of all the ridiculousness of our so-called society.
I'm just sorry that it will mean more huge trucks/semis parked in the 'hood while they are filming.
On the other hand, that means someone has a job for that day/week!
Meantime, if you like the foods, shop there. Otherwise, vote with your feet and buy baked goods someplace else!

Anonymous said...

Geezus people - relax. Since when does opening a bakery and promoting it on TV warrant a "public hanging"? I'm with BT & Richie here - this is probably a great opportunity for her to help others & promote a new business. She's been through hell physically & I wish her all the best.

BT & Richie may be interested in signing this petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/dr-drew-show-on-headline-news-we-would-like-a-public-apology-and-an-informed-episode-for-the-celiac-disease-community

or checking this out:

http://jennifersway.org/