‘Drop Dead Diva’ captures audience’s heart and soul

McClatchy Newspapers

The concept at the core of “Drop Dead Diva” is cute enough to make your teeth hurt.

In the first episode of the show, which debuted in July, model Deb Dobson (Brooke D’Orsay) was killed in a car accident. Once she arrived in the afterlife, Deb was told that she presented a curious conundrum for heaven: She had not done any notable good or bad deeds in her life. She was, in more ways than one, a zero. The show airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on Lifetime.

Taking matters into her own hands, she reached over and hit the “return” key on the computer keyboard of the angel assisting her. Deb’s spirit did indeed return to Earth, but in the body of plus-size lawyer Jane Bingum (Brooke Elliott), who lay near death after being shot.

A skinny model in a curvy lawyer’s body — high jinks ensue! Eye-roll-inducing, annoying high jinks!

Well, you’d think annoyance would ensue, given that the central conceit sounds like a “funny” idea from the hellish factory that is Hollywood’s romantic-comedy industry.

But as it has wandered away from its core body-switch concept and allowed its characters to become more than caricatures, “Drop Dead Diva” has emerged as one of summer’s unexpected pleasures. The show improves weekly, and scenes no longer, thank goodness, revolve around whether Jane will eat too many pastries.

“Diva” has turned into a faintly quirky legal drama about a woman facing a peculiar set of challenges, both personal and professional. Imagine the more sane (but still slightly silly) side of “Boston Legal” crossed with the classic Cyrano de Bergerac tale of unrequited love.

One of Jane’s challenges is presented by the presence of Grayson Kent (Jackson Hurst). Grayson is Deb’s former fianc , and he was hired by the firm that employs Jane just before Deb died.

Hurst is quietly winning in the role, and, to the show’s credit, Grayson’s grief over losing Deb is taken seriously. I still can’t see why such a smart man would have been so taken with such a clueless model, but Grayson’s devotion to Deb makes you take more seriously this ditzy character, who is occupying Jane’s body.

When “Drop Dead Diva” is at its best, it’s about two women who have lost a lot but are learning that they’ve gained something valuable as well. And there’s an intriguing question at the heart of the show — will Grayson realize that the love he lost is right under his nose and is now sporting dark hair and tasteful suits?