There has never been an animated cartoon aimed at female viewersuntil now.
Comedy icon and fashion know-it-all Joan Rivers is launching her newest project, an animated series titled Fashionista and Glamour Girl, on Thursday, May 15, at www.FashionistaandGlamourGirl.com .
"We took a superhero, made her a woman and a sidekick who is woman, and that is who Fashionista turned into," Rivers said. "Nobody has ever done this before."
Rivers voices character Roxanne Bischoff, a crotchety seamstress for a cosmopolitan Manhattan department store who sneaks into her lair at night and becomes superhero Fashionista. Her goal: to save actors, designers, celebrities and even your aunt Bessie from becoming the next fashion don't.
A shy-by-day stockroom girl, which actress/recording star Christina Milian voices in the pilot episode, joins Rivers' Bischoff in the series as sidekick Glamour Girl, fighting fashion's worst sins.
And it wouldn't be a superhero cartoon without a proper villain.
Melissa Rivers takes on the role as supervillain Bangs, who dedicates her life to foiling designers and couture devotees everywhere.
Bangs' villainous "sidekick" of sorts is the bitter Stole, a pet fox she keeps wrapped around her neck who is her only ally. Seth Rudetsky is the voice of Stole.
Rivers is joined by several other noteworthy actors in the program, including Ugly Betty's Michael Urie, who voices Roxanne's scruffy pet Maltese, Killer. Killer transforms into Splendido, the purebred stylist with big talent and a bigger attitude.
Third Rock from the Sun's French Stewart plays Mr. Worthe, the pompous fussbudget who runs the ladies' couture floor and has no idea that his employee Roxanne is the fashion world's best kept secret, and Curb Your Enthusiasm's Susie Essman plays Diane Von Furstenberger, one of many celebrities in peril who call on Fashionista for help.
A sneak peek of Fashionista and Glamour Girl premiered earlier this month, and Rivers said she's heard nothing but rave reviews.
"The response has been amazing," she said. "I walked into E! [Entertainment Television Network] yesterday and everyone was asking 'oh my god is it on network,' and I said no, its on no network, yet."
Rivers said she hopes to see the show get picked up, and is already at work on the next episode.
"It's going to get wilder … we will make the characters a little edgier, a little more into the "Fashion Police" mode because we think that is where it should go," she said.
The program is developed and produced independently by Rivers and Melissa Rivers, with show creator and Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? executive producer Danny Salles and Emmy Award-winning production duo Teresa L. Thome and Patrick W. Ziegler ( a Chicago resident ) of Fubble Entertainment.
Rivers, who already has a full plate, said she enjoys working on Fashionista and Glamour Girl because it's so different from what she is already involved in.
"This is much more collaborative," she explained. "There are many more people and there is a lot of acting involved in this, which is so much fun."
People can also catch Rivers online in In Bed With Joan, in which she interviews the day's top Internet celebs and, of course, on Fashion Police, which is number one on the E! Entertainment Network.