“Supermarket Sweep” Revival with Leslie Jones Hosting Is Going to Series at ABC

January 9, 2020

“Supermarket Sweep” Revival with Leslie Jones Hosting Is Going to Series at ABC

The sheer enthusiasm that Leslie Jones exudes about, well, anything that’s even remotely excited about is what really ought to be compelling with a Supermarket Sweep revival. There probably will be a camera on her at all times capturing her reactions to every second of action during the show.

We’re imagining the same sort of energy that Leslie brought to commenting on the Olympics will be found here on this new Supermarket Sweep that will going up at ABC.

Also, as far as game show hosts go, we’re confident that Leslie might Steve Harvey a run for his money for amount of .gifs made of her from an episode of the show.

Naomi Ekperigin’s Medical Family Sitcom “The Turners” Gets a Script Commitment with Penalty at ABC

November 18, 2019

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Naomi Ekperigin’s Medical Family Sitcom “The Turners” Gets a Script Commitment with Penalty at ABC

Naomi Ekperigin is without a doubt one of our favorite comedians out there today. We’ve said it so many times and we’ll keep saying it because she is just that good.

So, hearing that a single camera, based-on-a-true-story comedy that she wrote about a multi-generational family of doctors suddenly having to all work together is pretty grand news to us (and we hope to you too). We sincerely hope that this gets to make it through development hell to TV to see both Ekperigin’s name in big lettering on network television and what she great things she would do at the helm of a sitcom.

ABC Orders Nate Bargatze Sitcom from Nate and Jerrod Carmichael to Series

May 30, 2019

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ABC Orders Nate Bargatze Sitcom from Nate and Jerrod Carmichael to Series

The life and comedy of Nate Bargatze seems to be one that might bridge a lot of divisions in the here and now. Just watch any of his stand-up and you’ll know that his carefully observed, homespun stories and observations delivered in the most down-to-earth way that we’ve ever seen and you’ll see what we mean.

So, a multi-cam sitcom centered on Bargatze is a smart move by ABC, though we’ll see if it makes out of the first season, which is becoming an increasing rarity for network comedies these days. Also, we’re curious with Jerrod Carmichael’s touch having The Carmichael Show under his belt and experiencing some EP success with the critically praised Ramy on Hulu.

Above all, we’ll be curious to see if America is game for another multi-cam sitcom based on the life of a comedian.

‘Modern Family’ Will Get an 11th and Final Season at ABC

February 5, 2019

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‘Modern Family’ Will Get an 11th and Final Season at ABC

Without question, Modern Family is one of those era defining sitcoms and, as such, its exit after this 11th season might signal the end of an era. What’s interesting is that if you think about the pilot of Modern Family all those years ago, it seems to be kind of like The Office set within a multi-generational family. In a few ways, it got to be a multi-cam and single camera comedy at the same time, a very rare feat to pull off.

Of course, it became its own beloved show and garnered critical and commercial success over several seasons, but we’d be curious to see what sort of lasting impression it will leave on the next generation of sitcoms that will have a similar run.

Maybe that next long-running show will end up being The Good Place and it’ll be a new era of extremely high concept comedy with heart. Unfortunately, only time will tell, but you will at least get one more season of Modern Family in the meantime.

Tig Notaro Might Have Another Show Over at ABC with Pilot Production Commitment Set for “Thicker Than Water”

October 8, 2018

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Tig Notaro Might Have Another Show Over at ABC with Pilot Production Commitment Set for “Thicker Than Water”

Tig Notaro along with her co-EP on this project Cara DiPaolo are aiming for a dramedy exploring the American experience centered on the center of the U.S.

From the premise of meeting half-siblings for the first time at a funeral, Thicker Than Water almost seems like a natural progression from Tig’s last show One Mississippi.

Right now, it has a commitment for a pilot at ABC, but if it goes to series, maybe it could end up being ABC’s answer to This Is Us (in dramedy form).

ABC Developing Working-Class Midwestern Family Comedy “Everything’s Under Control” From Megan Gailey & Aaron Burdette

September 22, 2018

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ABC Developing Working-Class Midwestern Family Comedy “Everything’s Under Control” From Megan Gailey & Aaron Burdette

Though a “working-class midwestern family comedy” with a grandmother who gets Alzheimer’s could end up looking a myriad of ways, we really have dug Megan Gailey and sharp, yet grounded sense of humor ever since we saw her go up on LA stages. Also, Burdette wrote on the far-too-short-lived and highly innovative Man Seeking Woman on FX, which makes us think that this might be more than your typical dysfunctional family single camera comedy.

As always, we’ll just have to find out if and when this gets a series order.

ABC Commits to Put Pilot for Tessa Coates Comedy Produced By Greg Daniels

September 13, 2018

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ABC Commits to Put Pilot for Tessa Coates Comedy Produced By Greg Daniels

UK comedy multi-hyphenate Tessa Coates might well be on her way to living a bit of La La Land in real life. Not only did she come to LA and perform her solo show Primates, hoping to make a splash in Hollywood, but she did to an inimate crowd so at the very theater where Emma Stone’s Mia performed her solo show in La La Land, the Hayworth Theater (now known as the Dynasty Typewriter at the Hayworth Theater).

Coates was a pure delight and and irresistibly effervescent when we saw her there, her charm winning everybody right from the get go. Details as to what this project might exactly be haven’t been released yet, but we’re excited to see what Coates might have in store for us Yanks. Fortunately, with The Office’s Greg Daniels attached, that might just happen.

ABC Developing Chinese-American Family Comedy From Jessica Gao

September 12, 2018

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ABC Developing Chinese-American Family Comedy From Jessica Gao

If you’re unfamiliar with the name Jessica Gao, you should watch the credits of Rick and Morty a little closer (she’s staffed as a writer there) and listen to the podcast Whiting Wrongs where Gao and Dan Harmon have frank conversations about race in Hollywood.

Familiar now? Good.

Coming from the world of Rick-and-Morty-verse/C-137, we can only wonder what Gao has up her sleeve here. The premise is straightforward enough with a estranged daughter being forced back into their overbearing Chinese family via being the sole heir of a family fortune. Hopefully, we’ll get to see the final product if and when this goes to series.

ABC Orders Put Pilot of Simon Rich Family Comedy Starring Kristen Schaal

September 10, 2018

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ABC Orders Put Pilot of Simon Rich Family Comedy Starring Kristen Schaal

If you loved the whimsy of Simon Rich’s series-that-should-have-had-a-longer-run Man Seeking Woman, a comedy that stars Kristen Schaal at ABC that is, “told from a child’s perspective is about working together, overcoming adversity and getting the monsters in your closet not to eat you,” ought to serve up as much as whimsy as you can handle.

That being said, this project has no title and is only at the put pilot stage, but it certainly is one of the more intriguing things on ABC’s development slate in recent memory.

Also, we hope this gets picked up so Kristen Schaal gets top billing on a TV show.

ABC Buys Nate Bargatze Comedy as Put Pilot

July 27, 2018

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ABC Buys Nate Bargatze Comedy as Put Pilot

Knowing the wide, wide appeal of Nate Bargatze’s laid-back keen observations on life (you should watch/listen to everything Nate Bargatze’s done if you’re not familiar by the way) and the keen sense of Jerrod Carmichael’s writing/producing, we wouldn’t be surprised if this show gets and maintains the sort of success that ABC was hoping for when rebooting Roseanne.

We’ll just have to wait and see if this gets a series order to find out.

Roseanne Cancelled by ABC Following Roseanne Barr’s Racist Tweet Against Former Obama Aide Valerie Jarrett

May 29, 2018

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Roseanne Cancelled by ABC Following Roseanne Barr’s Racist Tweet Against Former Obama Aide Valerie Jarrett

Well, that was fast.

Despite the revival of Roseanne posting up pleasing numbers for ABC, a racist “joke” tweeted out about Valerie Jarrett, a presidential advisor under Barack Obama, has prompted ABC to cancel their promising reboot of the series.

The incendiary, grotesque tweet, now deleted, reads as follows, “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj” (vj being the initials of Valerie Jarett). Barr quickly apologized for the tweet after all hell broke loose on the Internet and announced she was leaving Twitter, but that wasn’t enough mea culpa for ABC’s taste.

This has to be the swiftest cancellation of a series (this all happened today) in recent memory, especially one that comes from the fallout of one tweet. Such action might just set a new standard and precedent that networks and studios might follow going forward regarding the behavior of their talent, no matter how big or successful.

Free speech, especially as used by comedians on social media, will be a curious case in the immediate future.

Defamation, which there might be an argument for here, is indeed not protected by the First Amendment, but you might want to read up on the legal definition of defamation before you form your opinion on the situation.

ABC Buys and Is Developing “The Mighty Quinn” Written by Jen Kirkman

October 11, 2017

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ABC Buys and Is Developing “The Mighty Quinn” Written by Jen Kirkman

You know, the idea that there might be a TV series written by Jen Kirkman on a major broadcast network really puts a smile on our face.

Kirkman definitely pulled from the wheelhouse of her life and stand-up for this show as the story follows a 39 year old woman going on a journey of self-discovery after being dumped on Christmas.

If you listen to any of Jen’s albums or watch any of her specials or read any of her books, you’d know that this has potential to be really great.

WellRED Comedy’s Trae Crowder Sells ABC a Liberal Redneck Comedy

October 6, 2017

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WellRED Comedy’s Trae Crowder Sells ABC a Liberal Redneck Comedy

ABC has picked up on Trae Crowder and WellRED Comedy’s growing popularity as “liberal redneck comedians”. Crowder, Drew Morgan, and Corey Ryan Forrester have indeed carved out that niche quite well with a successful nationwide tour, podcast, and more.

What’s also intriguing about here is that John Enborn, the creator of Party Down, is co-writing the project. The premise of moving back to Tennessee for a job and juggling familial responsibilities and Southern heritage might be straight forward enough, but we are curious how Trae and Enborn might add their personal angle to a traditional sitcom formula.

ABC Orders Dark Dramedy Put Pilot with Felicity Huffman as NYC-P.S.-Teacher-Turned-Unlikely-FBI-Agent

August 21, 2017

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ABC Orders Dark Dramedy Put Pilot with Felicity Huffman as NYC-P.S.-Teacher-Turned-Unlikely-FBI-Agent

This is news from last week, but the premise for this show is kind of amazing:

“…Kristy Kottis is inspired by the real-life Vespa riding, shit kicking, former New York City public school teacher-turned-FBI agent, Kristy Kottis. The is a darkly comedic drama seen through the eyes of a real woman — not a super hero, not first in her class, but fiftieth, who found her calling in a place she never imagined; as the first female supervisor in charge of the Guardian Squad, the division responsible for uniting the NYPD, Homeland Security, Secret Service, Amtrack and Port Authority Police in New York City.”

We’re thoroughly intrigued what it would look like when it’s all said and done. Thus, we felt obligated to give all of you a heads up just in case you don’t follow the trades as closely as we do.

Jetsons Live Action Reboot Gets a Put Pilot Order from ABC

August 17, 2017

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Jetsons Live Action Reboot Gets a Put Pilot Order from ABC

Kind of funny how one major TV network announces the order of a pilot that makes run of the preponderance revivals and reboots these days and another major TV network announces the order of a pilot of such a reboot all on the same day.

We will say that if this does end up going to series, it’d be nice if one, just one, futuristic series on television was a bit hopeful and imagines an actually better world, you know, kind of like the original Jetsons.

Also, perhaps this version of The Jetsons could address or correct an oft overlooked dark detail from the original show that one Adam Newman happen to notice and write a great joke about.

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