Which TV Show Should McKayla Maroney Guest Star On?
[caption id="attachment_66018" align="aligncenter" width="607" caption="A star is born. Photo Credit: Getty Images"]
[/caption]Let’s face it -- it’s McKayla Maroney’s world, we just live in it. With the announcement that Olympic swimmer, gold medalist, and all-around hottie Ryan Lochte will be doing a guest stint on the CW’s 90210, we wondered how our favorite teen shows would fare with America’s most famous unimpressed Olympic gymnast/Georgina Sparks-in-training as a guest star. Can she rise above her fellow Olympic athletes-turned-actors and achieve the golden Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Emmy? Or will she go the way of poor Kerri Strug in that awful episode of Clueless.
Hart of Dixie
Look, if Rachel Bilson can be a doctor, so can MacKayla! This series has “Olympic gymnast” written all over it. Actually, no it doesn’t, but it would be pretty cool to see McKayla interacting with Summer from The OC. We’d cast McKayla as a tough-talking Southern Belle with dreams of Olympic gold (silver), who injures herself right before her career-defining high school gymnastics meet. Naturally, small town doctor Zoe Hart rushes to her aid, but McKayla is NOT impressed. We wouldn’t be impressed either if Rachel Bilson was our doctor.
Bunheads
Just watching McKayla do her amazing gymnastic routines is enough for her to qualify as a guest star on ABC Family’s Bunheads. Sure, Bunheads is about dancing not gymnastics, but we know McCayla’s got moves too -- lest we forget her teaching Jenna Bush Hager and her Fierce Five teammates how to Dougie on Today. Girl can dance circles around these ballerinas … and she knows it. Plié all you want ladies, McKayla has her infamous vault.
The Carrie Diaries
Naturally, when we think of fashion icons, the women’s gymnastics team is the first thing that pops into our heads, followed closely by Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw and Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess (in that order). Therefore, it seems almost criminal to deny McKayla a role in the much anticipated prequel series to Sex and the City. Premiering in January, The Carrie Diaries follows teenage Carrie as she attends high school in the 1980s. McKyala is the perfect fit as the resident high school mean girl. She has the swagger and confidence down, not to mention the ability to rock a neon leotard and side ponytail.
Possible storyline: With her clique of popular gymnasts (called the “Leos” of course), McKayla befriends Carrie, but after Carrie wins Prom Queen (and McKayla is announced as runner up), their friendship is destroyed. This is why you’re never “a McKayla” when playing “Which Sex in the City Character Are You?”.
Pretty Little Liars
Does McKayla have what it takes to be the mysterious “A?" Of course! It almost seems too easy. No acting required! She’s already perfected the “I know all of your deep, dark secrets” look and certainly can master the art of scary text messaging (as can most teenagers). We wouldn’t even be surprised if McKayla and her BFF, Olympic teammate Kyla Ross, are sharing some big Pretty Little Liars-esque secret. Why else would they have remained friends for so long? She’s got this role in the bag. Those girls of Rosewood, Pennsylvania better watch out.
Nikita
Spies! Assassins! Leotards? If there’s one thing The CW knows how to do well, it’s women who kick ass. What better way to showcase MacKayla’s super-human gymnastic skills than in Nikita—the Maggie Q and Shane West action series about a former-spy determined to take down a secret government organization. We’ve no doubt McKayla can hold her own in a battle. Unfortunately, as we know from her infamous “not impressed” photo, McKayla isn’t the best at hiding her true feelings, so that coveted role of deliciously evil double agent will just have to go to Russian gymnast Aliya Mustafina. Mustafina’s paralyzing eyes, deceptively shiny hair glitter, and thick Russian accent will be perfectly matched against the subtle bitchiness of the new spy in town, McKayla.
Kyle Whited tweets as @kywhy and works for Logo. He received a silver medal at his elementary school science fair but was not very impressed
