On August 13th, Mary-Kate Olsen will emerge from her twin sister’s shadow and take arguably the largest starring role of her career as a cast members of Showtime’s Weeds. I’ll be honest with you: this is stunt casting at its finest. The role of a conservative Christian teenager who falls into a relationship with Silas (Hunter Parrish) could have been filled with scores of other young actresses, but Showtime likely insisted on someone that could get people talking.
So, I figure that Jenji Kohan and her writing staff should take advantage of this and be sure to milk their new co-star’s pedigree of sorts when writing the new season of Weeds (For more info on the new season, you can read Cultural Learnings’ Weeds: Season Three Preview.) Here’s ten possible storylines for the former child star that might get people talking; for some fascinating examples of said discussion, head over to my pal Erin’s juicy Olsen Twins gossip page, MKAshley.
1. Pregnancy
Silas already got his girlfriend Megan pregnant by putting holes in condoms, so it’s not as if there isn’t already a precedent here. Plus, if she gets pregnant on the show, it will start a whole slew of real life pregnancy tabloid rumours that will send the internet into a frenzy. It has all sorts of potential going against her fundamentalist background on the show as well.
2. Marijuana Dependency
The show’s called Weeds, people, so dabbling in the Mary Jane seems like a logical step for Mary-Kate. Silas takes on a new role in Nancy’s business in the fourth episode of the season that could make him into the facilitator of this dependency as well.
3. Alcoholism
It’s big with the teen queens these days (Oh Lindsay Lohan), and the series has not frowned from depicting the effects of alcohol in the past (Celia has a wonderful affair with the bottle early in the show’s third season). Plus, since Silas is a petty criminal, it would help them bond if she had a record as well.
4. Secret Twin Sister
It is somewhat sad I only got to #4 before trotting out this one, but it’s just too perfect. One sister can be the conservative christian, the other one can want to get into Silas’ pants. Comic hijinx ensue.
Cultural Learnings 