Will Lori Loughlin be able to make a TV comeback like Felicity Huffman?

Variety

Loughlin usually spends this time of year on the Hallmark channels as the "TV queen of Christmas." But this year, she's in the midst of a two-month federal prison sentence for her role in the college cheating scandal. Huffman was able to begin her TV comeback earlier this week with an ABC baseball comedy pilot, but what about Loughlin? "While Huffman’s handling of the situation was widely deemed more appropriate than Loughlin (who signed autographs for fans on courthouse steps when arriving to a federal court appearance, after being indicted in 2019), Huffman’s return to the biz after her major faux pas is also due to her level of work and longstanding positive reputation across the industry," says Daniel Holloway. "The Oscar-nominee and Golden Globe winner, who has a star on the Walk of Fame, is known to be adored by those with whom she works." As longtime Hollywood crisis manager Howard Bergman says of Huffman: "There is a perception that she handled a very bad situation very well, and that she’s done her time. She handled it with great humility, great class and great sincerity towards the severity of the situation... It couldn’t have been done any differently.” But for Loughlin, the fallout was more severe because of her crime and the way she handled the situation. "Though Huffman has already been cast in a major broadcast project, for both actresses, how they move forward will be crucial as they work to make their way back into America’s living rooms," says Holloway. "With any new show or film comes a press tour, and even after sitting down with an esteemed journalist for the most perfectly-conducted mea culpa, in the age of Twitter and Google, this story will follow participants of the college scandal for years to come." He adds: "Whether any network or studio will gamble on Loughlin remains to be seen. But by casting either Loughlin or Huffman, there is a risk of audience alienation, especially in the midst of a pandemic that has resulted in soaring unemployment numbers for millions of Americans, who very well may perceive the college scandal as a case of upper-crust entitlement; not a case of making an honest mistake."