Adults of a certain generation will instantly recognise Jennette McCurdy. The child star played Cat in the Nickelodeon show iCarly and appeared alongside Ariana Grande in Sam & Cat.
But it was her 2022 memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, which revealed a darker side to her fame. In the boldly titled book, she recounts her dysfunctional childhood of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her narcissistic mother.
Expertly balancing humour and heartache, the memoir lasted more than 80 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and garnered critical acclaim. Unsurprisingly, the rights to the book were snapped up by Apple TV.
Now, it’s been announced that Jennifer Aniston is set to star in the 10-episode series inspired by McCurdy’s memoir. While other details are thin on the ground, Apple TV describes the upcoming show as a “heartbreaking and hilarious recounting of Jennette McCurdy’s struggles as a former child actor while dealing with her overbearing, domineering mother.
“The dramedy will centre on the codependent relationship between an 18-year-old actress in a hit kids’ show, and her narcissistic mother who relishes in her identity as ‘a starlet’s mother.’”
The adaptation will likely stay true to its source material, with McCurdy signed on as co-writer, executive producer and showrunner alongside Ari Katcher. Excitingly, Aniston and Bad Sisters’ Sharon Horgan are also listed as executive producers.
With the rest of the cast yet to be announced, it could be years until the TV adaptation arrives on our screens. In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died.
‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ by Jennette McCurdy, published by Simon & Schuster: £15.08, Amazon.co.uk
Part exposé on the perils of child fame and part reckoning with the relationship with her mother, I’m Glad My Mom Died secured a spot in my review of the best memoirs and autobiographies. The provocative opening of the book sees McCurdy at her mother Debra’s hospital bedside. She’s got cancer and is in a coma – in a bid to wake her, McCurdy whispers, “Mommy, I am… so skinny right now.” What follows is the Nickelodeon star recounting her dysfunctional childhood with her cruel and narcissistic mother, who failed at her own acting career.
Despite her comic roles on screen, behind the scenes, McCurdy was depressed and anxious, suffering from disordered eating and alcohol abuse in her teens. In the book, McCurdy reveals how her mother forced her to diet and wouldn’t let her shower alone until she was 18 years old. It wasn’t until her mother died in 2013 that she understood the abuse she had suffered. This could be a depressingly sad memoir in anyone else’s hands, but McCurdy’s skill for storytelling and dark humour balances the bleakness of her story. Ultimately, it’s about abuse masquerading as love. McCurdy’s narration of the audiobook adds further depth to her story – it’s well worth a listen.
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