TV

Gwyneth Paltrow spoofs Goop on new Ali Wentworth comedy

Ali Wentworth has been surrounded by politics all her life.

The actress and producer grew up in Washington, DC, the daughter of a political journalist and First Lady Nancy Reagan’s social secretary. Since 2001, she’s been married to George Stephanopoulos, chief political correspondent and anchor at ABC News, with whom she has two daughters, 13, and 11.

So she considers her new scripted comedy series — “Nightcap,” set behind the scenes of a late-night talk show — something of a palate cleanser following a season deluged with political TV.

“After this election, people are going to really want to laugh,” Wentworth tells The Post before votes were cast.

Stars including Michael J. Fox take creative liberties to play themselves on “Nightcap.”PopTV

In “Nightcap,” premiering Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Pop, Wentworth stars as Staci, head talent booker for “Nightcap With Jimmy.” The 10-episode first season, which follows the chaos of wrangling staff and stars backstage, was inspired by years of Wentworth appearing as a guest on talk shows, such as “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.”

“The crazy s - - t that I would see, [like] the rock star and the publicist having sex and the door’s locked, and he’s on in five minutes and watching everybody go crazy — I thought, ‘This is a show,’ ” she says.

“Nightcap” deals in exaggerated comedy: In one episode, an animal wrangler convinces Mariska Hargitay to get eaten by a snake. The show’s roster of guest stars (playing heightened versions of themselves) includes Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael J. Fox. Because many of the regular cast members are improv actors, there was ample opportunity to play with game celebs.

“I thought Gwyneth would be a very scripted person, but all kinds of gold would come out of her mouth,” Wentworth says.

“[In the episode] she’s a kleptomaniac, and the chef at the show has made her specific Goop recipes and she’s like, ‘F - - k that, I want some fried chicken.’ She’s the opposite of what she appears to be.”