Consulting

I loathe to say it, but Kristen Bell has had a hard time breaking through and becoming the star the sorely missed Veronica Mars promised she’d be.

After that little-seen TV show ended its too-short run, the actress went on to take on a thankless role on Heroes…and to mediocre big-screen projects that did little to elevate her to American Sweetheart status.

Oh, and she was squandered in Burlesque. And girlfriend can shake it and sing. Don’t remind me of that terrible example of underutilization….

But I digress.

Now, much like Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bell is eyeing a return to the tube.

She has signed on to play a sharp Ivy League grad that works alongside a cutthroat consultant (Don Cheadle), to whom she’s reluctantly attracted, on the Showtime pilot House of Lies.

I hope the powers that be will make her character super-clever, and sassy, and that, given she’ll be on premium cable, she’ll have quite a hilarious bite to her. She deserves it.

Photo: DaemonsMovies.com.