Deadline Hollywood reports on a new HBO show in development, The Dolls, which will be set in Arkansas:

The Dolls, inspired by true events, recounts the aftermath of Christmas Eve riots within two small Arkansas towns in 1983…riots which erupted over, yes,…Cabbage Patch Dolls. The limited series explores class, race, privilege and what it takes to be a “good mother.”

Laura Dern and the genius Issa Rae have signed up to star in the show.

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Cabbage Patch riots? Let me explain. When I was four years old, everyone wanted a Cabbage Patch Kid. Stores couldn’t keep up with demand, and parents fought over the last dolls on the shelves. Cabbage-crazed mamas grabbed, slapped, kicked, choked, and even brandished baseball bats. The local news was on the scene. CABBAGE PATCH RIOT!!

Actually, I have no memory of this. I never had a Cabbage Patch Kid, perhaps due to the scarcity that always follows violence. But according to a cursory internet review, shopping violence over in-demand Cabbage Patch Kids was a thing in the holiday season of 1983, and the media was very excited about it.

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Did the riots hit “two small Arkansas towns”? Anyone remember this? I need to call Steve Barnes. 

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