Casting news NBC Pilots Fall 2012

Snoop Dogg To Star In NBC Family Sitcom



The family comedy project starring Snoop Dogg has landed at NBC with a script commitment. Sitcom veteran Don Reo is writing the sitcom that has the rapper/entrepreneur/marijuana activist playing the father. The project was originally set up at Warner Bros TV last month. Reo will executive produce, with Snoop Dogg and Ted Chung serving as producers. Snoop Dogg has played a father figure on TV before, on his E! reality series Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood, which chronicled his family life with his wife and three kids. Snoop Dogg previously worked with Reo on the Fox sitcom Brothers, which Reo created and on which Snoop Dogg did a guest arc. The musician has been focusing on acting recently and was recently cast in the title role in the biopic The Legend Of Fillmore Slim. My Wife And Kids co-creator Reo most recently worked on the WBTV-produced comedy Two And A Half Men. NBC has mixed track record with sitcom projects toplined by rappers. It scored a hit in the 1990s with The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air starring Will Smith, but its 2001 comedy pilot starring Sisqo and comedy legend Bob Newhart was a disaster. Reo and Snoop Dogg are with Paradigm.

NBC Buys Family Comedy Created By & Starring Actor-Comedian Jim Gaffigan



EXCLUSIVE: NBC has bought a single-camera comedy from actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan, Universal TV and Scot Armstrong and Ravi Nandan’s studio-based American Work. Gaffigan will write and star in the project based on his life as a lazy man, married to a strong woman, raising 4 children in a 2 bedroom apartment in New York City. Gaffigan will executive produce with his manager, Brillstein Entertainment’s Alex Murray, as well as Armstrong and Nandan. Gaffigan, a respected standup comedian, will begin a 30-city tour in the beginning of 2012. It will spawn a televised comedy stand-up special in February, which is eying non-traditional ways for digital distribution. CAA-repped Gaffigan’s previous comedy series starring vehicle was the 2000 CBS sitcom Welcome To New York, which was produced by David Letterman’s company. He recently co-starred on the TBS comedy series My Boys and made his Broadway debut in That Championship Season earlier this year.

NBC Futuristic Pilot Casts First 2 Regulars



EXCLUSIVE: James Murray (Chaos) and Patrick Heusinger (Royal Pains) are set to co-star in the NBC drama pilot Beautiful People. The project, written by Michael McDonald, is set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. It centers on the very wealthy Lydia whose late husband founded the firm that makes Mechanicals. Murray will play her son, a handsome and very successful attorney who’s lived a rich and privileged life but makes a name for himself by publicly suggesting that Mechanicals might have civil rights — a notion that’s largely scoffed at. Heusinger will play a family man employed as a servant in Lydia’s home who is in fact a Mechanical, but after one of his daughters is killed in a car accident, he proves to be “defective” as he’s plagued with forbidden emotions like grief and loss. The pilot, co-produced by ABC Studios and Universal TV, will be directed by Stephen Hopkins.

NBC Comedy Pilot ‘Isabel’ Finds Young Lead



EXCLUSIVE: Young actress Sophia Schloss has landed the title role in NBC’s single-camera comedy pilot Isabel. Inspired by the French-Canadian series Le Monde De Charlotte, Isabel centers on an otherwise normal, angry middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising a daughter (Schloss) who has magical qualities. Schloss has experience acting in an NBC pilot with magical elements — she guest starred in the pilot for the network’s freshman drama series Grimm. Isabel was written by Howard Busgang and Tom Nursall, with Todd Holland set to direct. Aaron Kaplan, Jocelyn Deschenes, Busgang and Nursall, Holland and Karey Burke are executive producing.

TV CASTINGS: Frances Conroy To Star In ‘Beautiful People’, Two Added To ‘Isabel’



EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off her co-starring turn in the first season of FX’s anthology drama American Horror Story, Frances Conroy has been tapped for a lead role in the NBC drama pilot Beautiful People. The project, written by Michael McDonald, is set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. It centers on the very wealthy Lydia (Conroy) whose late husband founded the firm that makes Mechanicals. Conroy joins previously cast James Murray and Patrick Heusinger.



Abigail Mavity (Zeke & Luther) and Skyler Gisondo (Psych) have been cast in the NBC comedy pilot Isabel. Inspired by the French-Canadian series Le Monde De Charlotte, Isabel centers on an otherwise normal, angry middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising daughter Isabel (Sophia Mitri Schloss) who has magical qualities. Mavity, repped by Stone Manners Salners and Chris Snyder Management, will play Isabel’s older sister Karen, a self-involved teenager, Gisondo will play her brother Eric. Gisondo, repped by Paradigm and Wishlab, will next be seen in The Three Stooges, where he plays young Moe, and in The Amazing Spider-Man.

Marcia Gay Harden To Star In NBC’s Comedy Pilot ‘Isabel’



arcia Gay Harden has been tapped to star in NBC’s comedy pilot Isabel. Inspired by the French-Canadian series Le Monde De Charlotte, Isabel centers on an otherwise normal, angry middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising daughter Isabel (Sophia Mitri Schloss) who has magical qualities. Oscar and Tony winner Harden will play the mom, Francis. This is the second consecutive season, in which Harden stars in a comedy pilot. Last year, she did ABC’s half-hour Smothered. She is with UTA and manager Maryellen Mulcahey.

David Koechner Inks NBC Talent Deal, Eyes Greg Daniels’ ‘Friday Night Dinner’ & ‘Office’



EXCLUSIVE: Actor-comedian David Koechner has signed a talent holding deal with NBC. Under the pact, he is attached to star in Greg Daniels’ comedy project Friday Night Dinner and possibly do more episodes of The Office, where he has appeared occasionally since the second season. The deal expands Koechner’s relationship with The Office showrunner Daniels.

Like The Office, Friday Night Dinner also is based on a UK series. The original, created by Robert Popper and airing on Channel 4, is about a traditional but not strictly observant Jewish family and chronicles their Shabbat dinners. It centers on brothers Adam and Jonny who reluctantly visit their parents — mom Jackie, who is obsessed with Masterchef, and dad Martin, who loves to walk around shirtless — for a home-cooked meal. Adding to the gallery of oddball characters is a grandmother who struts her stuff in a bikini and eccentric neighbor Jim who constantly interrupts dinner. Daniels originally explored a role as supervisor/executive producer on the project and met with a number of writers but ultimately decided to write the adaptation himself. While he was still writing the script, NBC put the project on a fast track, getting a casting director to explore casting choices and looking at directors. (Ken Kwapis, who helmed the pilot of The Office, has circled the potential pilot.)

As for The Office, it was unclear whether, with Michael Scott gone from Dunder Mifflin, his obnoxious BFF Todd Packer, played by Koechner, would return. I hear that now is a strong possibility, especially in case Friday Night Dinner doesn’t go the distance. ImprovOlympic and Second City alum Koechner, repped by CAA, started off as a performer on Saturday Night Live and Late Night With Conan O’Brien before segueing into TV and film acting.

NBC’s Sarah Silverman Pilot Casts Duo



EXCLUSIVE: NBC’s untitled Sarah Silverman comedy pilot has cast its first 2 regulars and, like the project’s co-creator/star Silverman herself, they too are comedians-writers. Harris Wittels, who was a writer on Silverman’s Comedy Central series, will play Harris Wittels, a version of himself, in a role created for him. Also cast is June Diane Raphael whose writing credits include the feature comedy Bride Wars.

The untitled single-camera comedy, from 20th Century Fox TV and Imagine TV, is loosely based on Silverman’s life and stars the comedian as Susan, a woman readjusting to the single life after a decade-long live-in relationship. Wittels’ Harris Wittels is a short, hipster, endearing and good-natured tenant in Susan’s building who happens to be a huge fan. Raphael will play Chelsea, an attractive, smart tenant in the building who was once Susan’s best friend until Susan disappeared into a relationship ten years ago and hasn’t called her since. Silverman wrote the script with Dan Sterling and Jon Schroeder, who also worked on her self-titled Comedy Central series. Silverman, Sterling and Imagine’s Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo are executive producing, with Schroeder serving as co-exec producer. Raphael’s acting credits include series NTSF:SD:SUV and Players and features Bride Wars and Going The Distance. She recently finished the movie Imogene and as a writer, she has a comedy project in contention at ABC, Walk Of Shame, which she co-wrote with Casey Wilson with Will Gluck producing. Raphael is with UTA and The Collective. Wittels, repped by CAA and 3 Arts, is a writer on Parks & Recreation and has made a couple of guest appearances on the NBC comedy series playing again a character named Harris.

Five Cast In NBC Pilot ‘Beautiful People’



EXCLUSIVE: Andrea Parker, Jud Tylor, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Madisen Beaty and Cody Christian have been added to the cast of NBC’s drama pilot Beautiful People. The project, written by Michael McDonald, is set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. It centers on the very wealthy Lydia (Frances Conroy), whose late husband founded the firm that makes Mechanicals. Parker will play the wealthy Roberta, whose life is turned upside down when her rebellious teen daughter (Beaty) starts a romance with a Mechanical boy (Christian), the son of Lydia’s Mechanical servant David (Patrick Heusinger) and his wife Susan (Tylor). Echikunwoke will play the boss of Lydia’s other son, attorney Gregory (James Murray).

‘Book Of Mormon’ Star Andrew Rannells Inks Deal To Topline NBC’s Ryan Murphy/Ali Adler Comedy



EXCLUSIVE: In what would be his first major series gig, The Book Of Mormon star Andrew Rannells has been signed in a joint 20th Century Fox TV-NBC talent holding deal with the intention for him to play one of the 3 leads in the NBC/20th TV comedy from the Glee duo of Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler. The single-camera project, co-written by Murphy and Adler and to be directed by Murphy, is described as a heartwarming comedy about a blended family of a gay couple and the woman who becomes a surrogate to help them start a family. It has not been greenlighted to pilot yet but is fully expected to. NBC landed the pitch in a three-way bidding war with penalty said to be bigger than any other commitment for a comedy project this season. Just as Murphy and Adler were setting out to write the script, NBC moved on to hire a casting director to explore options for the 3 leads. Murphy and Adler are executive producing the project with Ryan Murphy Prods.’ Dante Di Loreto.

Rannells, whose Broadway resume includes stints in Hairspray and Jersey Boys, shot to fame last year when he was cast, along with Josh Gad, as one of the the 2 leads of the hugely successful musical The Book Of Mormon. Both Rannells and Gad earned Tony nominations for their performances in the Tony-winning musical. Off the stage, Rannell’s is an accomplished voice-over artist. His first on-screen role is a guest stint on the upcoming HBO comedy series Girls.

Anne Heche Set To Star In NBC Comedy Pilot ‘Save Me’, Lifting Project’s Contingency



EXCLUSIVE: After a lengthy search, Anne Heche has been tapped to star in Save Me, lifting the contingency on the NBC comedy pilot, which will now go into production. Heche will also serve as a producer on the single-camera project from writer John Scott Shepherd, Sony Pictures TV and Neal Moritz’s studio-based Original Films. Save Me centers on a woman (Heche) who, after an accident, starts to believe that she is channeling God. The project, which received a cast-contingent pilot order by NBC in September, was originally developed by NBC’s head of comedy Tal Rabinowitz while she was SVP Comedy at Sony TV and was initially set up at Showtime just as current NBC entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt was leaving the pay cable network in 2010. Shepherd is executive producing with Original Films’ Moritz and Vivian Cannon as well as Scott Winant (Californication). Men In Trees alumna Heche, repped by UTA and Untitled, most recently co-starred on the dark comedy Hung, which had a three-season run on HBO. Save Me now joins two other NBC comedy pilots with formal green light: Isabel, which is filming, and the recently picked up Kari Lizer female buddy comedy.

Kevin Nealon To Star In NBC Comedy Pilot ‘Isabel’, Continue On Showtime’s ‘Weeds’



XCLUSIVE: Weeds‘ Kevin Nealon is set to co-star in NBC’s comedy pilot Isabel, reuniting with NBC topper Bob Greenblatt who shepherded Weeds during his tenure at Showtime. Inspired by the French-Canadian series Le Monde De Charlotte, Isabel, from Kapital Entertainment and Universal TV, centers on an otherwise normal, angry middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising daughter Isabel (Sophia Mitri Schloss) who has magical qualities. Nealon will play her father, a natural born insurance salesman, opposite Marcia Gay Harden, who was previously cast as the mother. The casting won’t interfere with Nealon’s duties as a regular on the upcoming eighth season of Weeds, which is rumored to be the long-running series’ last. If Isabel goes to series, it will have Nealon in first position beyond Season 8 of Weeds. Saturday Night Live alum Nealon is with Gersh and Brillstein Entertainment.

In other pilot casting news David Mamet’s daughter Clara Mamet has been cast as Jami Gertz’s teenage daughter in ABC’s Dan Fogelman comedy pilot. Also cast in kids roles are Ian Patrick and Isabella Cramp.

'Beautiful People’ Casts



The Ghost Whisperer alum David Conrad and Tovah Feldshuh round out the cast of NBC’s drama pilot Beautiful People. The project, written by Michael McDonald, is set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. Gersh-repped Conrad will play Jerry, the head of Universal Kinematics, a Steve Jobs-type of entrepreneurial genius, expert at both high-level design and higher-level marketing of sophisticated Mechanical servants. Feldshuh will play the head of the Mechanical Control Division of the police department who is determined to keep them a cowed, servile underclass.

Two Join Sarah Silverman Comedy



Tig Notaro and Lost alum Ken Leung round out the cast of Sarah Silverman’s NBC comedy pilot. Inspired by Silverman’s real-life experiences, the project stars the comedian as successful singer/songwriter Susan Farrow, who realizes her stifling 10-year relationship has been a bust and returns to her old apartment in an upscale Manhattan apartment building. Notaro will play one of Susan’s new friends, Beth Ann, a tenant in the building who has a 4-year-old daughter. Leung will play the recurring role of Gene, a shut-in who spends most of his time on his couch, wrapped in a blanket and watching TV. Like the other two co-leads opposite Silverman, Harris Wittels and June Diane Raphael, Notaro is a comedian-writer. Like Wittels, she also worked with Silverman on her Comedy Central series. (Notaro was a recurring; Wittels a writer). And like with Wittels, the role was written for her and she will play a version of herself. (In the script, the character’s name was originally Tig). Silverman wrote the pilot with Dan Sterling and Jon Schroeder, who also worked on her Comedy Central series. Ken Kwapis is set to direct.

Another name added to Beautiful People



In other pilot news, Ernie Hudson has booked a recurring role on NBC’s futuristic drama Beautiful People, set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. Hudson, repped by the Marshak/Zachary Co., will play the owner of a law firm.