Jews Making News: Lisa Kudrow “Shines” in Summer Blockbuster Comedy, Neighbors

COMPILED BY NOAH ALHADEFF

Rashida Jones to Star in New TBS Comedy, Angie Tribeca

TBS kicked off its new series pickups with a green light to the character-driven police comedy Angie Tribeca, the brainchild of Steve and Nancy Carell. The network has ordered 10 episodes of the project starring Rashida Jones for a 2015 premiere.

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The single-camera comedy focuses on an eccentric but brilliant group of LAPD detectives who investigate crime, reveal way too much personal information and refuse to rest until justice has been served…sort of. Jones plays Angie Tribeca, a lone wolf who’s capable, committed, strong and not thrilled about working with a partner. “Angie Tribeca is a hilarious spoof of police procedurals in the spirit of The Naked Gun, with a terrific cast and a wickedly funny point of view,” said Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and TCM.

Rashida Jones was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Quincy Jones, an African-American musician who became a media mogul and producer. Rashida and her sister were raised Jewish by their Ashkenazi mother, Peggy Lipton, an actress noted for her role on the TV series The Mod Squad and Twin Peaks. Rashida attended Hebrew school and still practices Judaism today.

Lisa Kudrow “Shines” in Summer Blockbuster Comedy, Neighbors

Neighbors, out last Friday, is a Nick Stoller-directed comedy about a young couple suffering from arrested development who are forced to live next to a fraternity house after the birth of their newborn baby.

When the couple, Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, bring their concerns about the frat to university dean Carol Gladstone, played by Kudrow, Carol’s lack of interest sparks a very funny back-and-forth regarding potential newspaper headlines. Unfortunately for the new parents, she’s not very much help and refuses to punish Efron’s noisy frat.

Lisa Kudrow was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Nedra S., a travel agent, and Dr. Lee N. Kudrow, a headache specialist and physician. Kudrow was raised in a middle-class Jewish family, and had a Bat Mitzvah. Her ancestors emigrated from Belarus and lived in the village of Ilya, in the Minsk area; her great-grandmother was murdered in the Holocaust.