The real-life Trophy Wife

Malin Akerman stars in Trophy Wife.

New sitcom borrows from true-life experiences finds Emma Clifton.

She's the Harvard-educated, self-proclaimed feminist who is behind the new TV2 show Trophy Wife but co-creator Sarah Haskins still knows what it's like to be viewed as "some weird extra fourth wife".

The brand-new sitcom, loosely based on Sarah's own life, follows the exploits of a party girl who falls for an older man and inherits his three children and two ex-wives when she marries him.

"It's a tongue-in-cheek experience for myself and my family also," the 34-year-old comedian tells Living about the comic potential that comes from being the new mother of a ready-made family.

"It's about buying presents for kids' mums who used to be married to your husband ... [Suddenly]

I had a teenage daughter who was instantly much, much cooler than I was as a teenager.

And the first time a kid vomits on you is always pretty surprising, especially when it's not yours."

The TV2 comedy has an all-star line-up. Malin Ackerman is the brand-new wife, Kate, and The West Wing's Bradley Whitford is Pete. Marcia Gay Harden plays ex wife No 1, a strict doctor, and Michaela Watkins plays the hippy-dippy, new-age wife No2.

The show's sharp writing is no surprise, as Sarah first made a name for herself on the stand-up circuit, performing with the sketch comedy troupe Second City, whose alumni include Bill Murray, Steve Carell, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

In 2007, the Harvard-educated feminist moved to LA with her writing partner, co-creator Emily Halpern, and the two started pitching scripts.

"One day we ran out of ideas, so I married my next-door neighbour, a man 20 years my senior with ex wives and lot of children. We realised it was too good to pass up."

Sarah deadpans that it had to be toned down slightly for family television. "He'd been married three times before, but we didn't think America could accept that, so we just kept it at two."

The man in question was 55-year-old writer Geoffrey Edwards, the son of director Blake Edwards who was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous films, including Breakfast at Tiffanys and the original Pink Panther movies.

Blake's second wife was Julie Andrews and the pair were married for 41 years until he died in 2010, so not only did Sarah inherit three ex wives and two children, she also gained Mary Poppins as a step mother-in-law.

Sarah jokes that the age difference between her and her husband is rarely an issue, apart from when it comes to pop culture references.

"He's seen a lot more movies I haven't seen but I figure, well, I'll catch up. He and my mum can talk about Mary Tyler Moore."

Sarah's own positive experiences in a blended family are a big influence in Trophy Wife and the realistic look at the three adult women's relationship is one of the show's greatest strengths.

"It was important to us that there's no villain in the situation," she says. "All of these parents are working very hard together to try to do something that's not easy, which is raise kids and do the best for them. So you're going to have a lot of strong women trying to do that."

Sarah, who has a 3-year-old daughter with Geoffrey, says she wanted the "Trophy Wife" label to represent the stereotype of the family's situation, rather than the reality.

"There was a birthday party I went to at my stepson's kindergarten and I was the one who brought him, my husband and I, and I think everyone looked at me and was like, 'Oh, we know your story'," she laughs.

Trophy Wife screens Monday, January 13, at 8.30pm on TV2.