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In about two weeks, Showtime will premiere The Big C, a new dark comedy about a reserved mother whose life takes an unexpected turn when she’s diagnosed with cancer.

Though I’m not a fan of the show’s title, I do like that The Big C ambitiously seeks to find humor in a dark situation. Even more, the series is toplined by Laura Linney, an actress I have adored for years from projects like The Truman Show and The Squid and the Whale, to The Savages and HBO’s John Adams.

If the writing is good, and The Big C proves to be a story worth telling, I have little doubt that it’ll succeed. I put that much faith in an actress like Linney, who I’ve read will be in just about every scene of the show.

And you know, casting Linney in a show like The Big C is inspired. But if any network were to do so, it makes sense for it to be Showtime. Prior to The Big C, the pay cabler has developed a bit of a niche in greenlighting programs with “older” actresses as leads. Mary-Louise Parker (46) headlines Weeds, Edie Falco (47) top bills Nurse Jackie and, well, Toni Collette (37) plays the titular character on United States of Tara. (The latter Collette is on here more for consistency sake; 37 certainly isn’t old in my book).

Based on the success Showtime has had with the shows on its programming slate, I thought it a good idea to brainstorm other actresses who could probably launch successful shows on Showtime (or, really, any cable network).

Two stipulations: 1) They have to be at least 45 years old, and 2) They have to be actresses who would actually do TV shows. Would a show with Meryl Streep in a leading role be successful? Sure. But I’d never expect her to cross that line. Then again, Dustin Hoffman will soon be starring on a show for HBO, so maybe anything is possible).

Catherine Keener (51)

I wasn’t familiar with Catherine Keener – or, at least, able to recall her with such clarity – until her undeniably sweet work as Steve Carell’s love interest in Judd Apatow’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin. She plays a struggling mother on one bratty child who sells things on eBay for a living. As Jonah Hill comes to find out, she may own a storefront, but she doesn’t think to sell things in the rented space.

Since then, she played Harper Lee in Capote, the hippiest of hippies in Into the Wild, Adele in the little seen Synecdoche, New York and mother of wild child Max in Where the Wild Things Are. Every time I see her, I seem to appreciate her more.

I could pick her raspy voice out of a crowd every time, and her face is a face you can trust.

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