You’ve just been cast as a Mom on an ABC Family series
Are you a thirty-to-forty-something actress who finds herself in the awkward position of being too old to play the primetime love interest yet not old enough for TV Land? Welcome to the wonderful world of ABC Family, Hollywood’s new go-to address for the likes of Molly Ringwald, Holly Marie Combs and Laura Leighton courtesy of MAKE IT OR BREAK IT, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS among others.
You’re starring in a movie on a channel names after a greeting card company
Not fortunate enough to nab one of the few roles playing an irresponsible TV mom on the CW or ABC Family? The Hallmark Channel — assuming of course you’re alright with overtly saccharine films littered with positive messages of hope that usually co-star a kid and a dog — has been giving Lauren Holly and Gail O’Grady a steady paycheck for years.