Demi Lovato got her start as a child actor in the children’s series Barney & Friends, but her acting and singing career alike took flight with the success of the Disney Channel hit movie Camp Rock with the Jonas Brothers. Lovato’s most recent acting project was her role in the Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams-starring movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story Of Fire Saga. Now, Lovato is once again pivoting to television, as she’s been cast in the lead role in a new NBC sitcom.
A pilot has been secured for the series Hungry, which will star Lovato and a several of her friends who all belong to an eating disorder support group. Per a report from Variety, the sitcom will follow the tight-knit group on their adventures in dating, love, success, and healing.
Along with starring in the series, Lovato will be the show’s executive producer. She’ll work closely with writer and executive producer Suzanne Martin, who has won several Emmys for her time on Fraiser and the revival of NBC’s Will & Grace.
Lovato has been vocal about her personal struggles with an eating disorder and addiction. Last year, the musician opened up to Ellen about how a recent relapse was fueled by her over-controlling former management. “I lived a life for the past six years that I felt like wasn’t my own, because I struggled really hard with an eating disorder, yes, and that was my primary problem, and then it turned into other things,” she said. “My life, I felt, was so — and I hate to use this word — but I felt like it was controlled by so many people around me. If I was in my hotel room at night, they would take the phone out of the hotel room so I couldn’t call room service, or if there was fruit in my room, they took it out because it was extra sugar.”