Nikki DeLoach reveals an update on ‘Awkward’ reboot
Hold. The. Phone. Could “Awkward” really make a comeback?
Well, according to Nikki DeLoach — who played Jenna Hamilton’s cool mom Lacey — there is a universe where another blown-way-out-of-proportion misunderstanding graces our screens.
“Girl, I am trying!” she exclusively told The Post at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Dance Party to End ALZ red carpet on Sunday. “We’ve tried. We’re trying, we are not giving up.”
Ashley Williams, who cohosted the event with DeLoach, 45, teased, “It’s called ‘Still Awkward.’”
“Yeah, actually!” DeLoach exclaimed. “Actually! That was what we pitched. ‘Still Awkward.’ That’s what we pitched. It’s called ‘Still Awkward: Ten Years Later.’”
And yes, the original cast, including Ashley Rickards, Beau Mirchoff, Molly Tarlov, Jillian Rose Reed, Brett Davern, Desi Lydic, and Mike Faiola, would all be on board.
“Yes,” DeLoach, who starred in MTV series for all five seasons from 2011 to 2016, confirmed. “I know they would,”
Getting the gang back together isn’t the only project DeLoach is busy working on.
The “Curious Caterer Mysteries” actress teamed up with Williams, 45, to put on the Dance Party to End ALZ in Hollywood over the weekend. A cause that is near and dear to both the Hallmark stars’ hearts.
“I find that whenever I face a hard thing, giving back is a way to heal. It is my way to move through something. I don’t know any other way to be,” DeLoach confessed. “So, from the moment my grandfather was diagnosed, I started to get involved with the Alzheimer’s Association. Ashley and I have been friends since our twenties – I hate that this disease has connected us in this way, but boy, am I glad.”
Becoming emotional, the “Days of Our Lives” alum continued, “When my dad got diagnosed, she was the only other person that I knew that had gone through this because her mother had passed before my dad passed. So, I just called Ashley and she held my hand through it. So I think for both of us we don’t know any other way to be. You go through something hard, and you show up, and you give back, and you be of service. For us, we want to make sure nobody else gets this.”
The duo also wanted the fundraiser to celebrate those who have passed from the disease.
“I have this thing where I’m like, ‘In a couple of years, we’re going to get together, we’re going to be celebrating the end of Alzheimer’s Disease at this party.’ But also, your dad and my mom loved a party,” Williams shared. “The essence of our parents are here. And getting to honor them in this way, there’s just no better way to do it.”
DeLoach is also diving deeper into the disease in her new podcast, Mind What Matters. The “Awkward” star will explore what it means to be a caregiver in all its aspects.
“One out of three people will end up with this disease, which means one out of those three people will be a caregiver. Now, we are working towards raising money towards research grants,” DeLoach explained. “The more we learn, the more we learn about how to prevent this disease. So we’re hoping that number goes from one in three to one in 1,000. But right now, our caregivers are suffering.”
As for what listeners can expect?
DeLoach elaborated: “The podcast is really about not just caregiving in the space of Alzheimer’s and Dementia but all the ways we give care that we don’t even think about. We’re talking to doctors and experts. Dr. Sharon Malone, Kimberly Williams-Paisley – I can’t wait. After this is done I can get Ashley to come! Dr. Elizabeth Colman. We are talking to all these incredible people about the way they give care and the way sometimes we forget to give care to ourselves.”
Meanwhile, Williams marked World Alzheimer’s Day on Sept. 21 in her own right with a Hallmark movie called “Falling Together.”
“A lot of our audience is really dealing with this subject matter, so I’ve always wanted to tell a story that involved something that is so emotionally resident for me,” the actress revealed. “I brought the idea to our executives and we reallyhave a lot of executives in development whose families have been affected by Alzheimer’s disease. So, for them, it was a quick yes.”
And Williams made sure to make the project a family affair.
“Getting to tell the story while also keeping it comedic and jovial and a celebration of fall,” gushed the advocate. “It was such a joy, and I got to produce it with my husband, Neal Dodson. It was everything I wanted it to be.”
