After leaving the panel of daytime talk show The Talk, Eve is plotting a return to scripted television with the ABC pilot Queens. It would be the first time she’s had a major role on television since her self-titled UPN sitcom.
According to Deadline, the pilot is written by Zahir McGhee and tells the story of four estranged women who reunite in an effort to recapture their fame as ’90s hip-hop group Nasty Bitches. McGhee and Sabrina Wind will executive produce along with ABC Signature.
Eve will play Brianna, who rose to fame as Nasty Bitches member “Professor Sex.” Years later, Brianna is now a wife and mother to five children. Brianna must now figure out if she still has the charisma she had at the height of her fame.
Deadline reports, “Twenty years ago, Brianna was Professor Sex — one-fourth of the iconic 90s hip-hop group, the Nasty Bitches — rapping about money, sex and her all-around glamorous lifestyle. Today, Brianna is a proud wife and mother of five — in a stained sweatsuit who barely has a second to breathe. Not glamorous. But Brianna loves her life. The Nasty Bitches are a distant, distant memory. But when an opportunity arises for the group to reunite, Brianna will grapple with whether or not she still has the swagger and confidence that made her an icon decades ago.”
Eve is expected to record her own songs as her character, meaning that the pilot could sway a lot of Empire and Star fans who are looking for the next musical drama.
McGhee is known for his extensive work on Shondaland shows such as Scandal, For the People and Private Practice. He is under an ABC deal where he developed Harlem’s Kitchen starring Sheryl Lee Ralph last pilot season, but it didn’t go to series. Other projects he has in development include Smoakland from Keri and Yara Shahidi.