Felicity Huffman is returning to acting — and to ABC — with a single-camera comedy that has landed a big pilot production commitment at the network. The Peanut Butter Falcon‘s Zack Gottsagen co-stars in the project from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment.
Written by Becky Hartman Edwards, the untitled comedy is inspired by Susan Savage, the real-life owner of the Triple-A baseball team the Sacramento River Cats. It marks the first project Huffman has taken on since the 2019 college admission scandal.
The Emmy-winning actress has been heavily courted for TV series and pilots since she completed her short prison sentence after pleading guilty to fraud more than a year ago. Kaplan approached Huffman with the idea about a series inspired by Savage, which she responded to. He brought on Hartman Edwards as a writer, and Gottsagen, who has a talent deal with Kapital, came on board to co-star opposite Huffman. The project was taken out, attracting multiple offers and ultimately landing at ABC. It was then laid off at ABC Signature.
A funny, surprising and occasionally heartbreaking half-hour about love, loss, family and Triple-A baseball, the project stars Huffman as the unlikely owner of a minor-league baseball team. After suddenly losing her husband and inheriting his beloved team, she is forced to navigate her new normal with the help of her dysfunctional family, including her oldest son (Gottsagen), a baseball devotee with Down syndrome, her work family and the Sacramento community at large. This is the story of a woman navigating grief, local politics and the business of sports and learning not just to adjust, but to thrive.
Hartman Edwards, Huffman and Savage executive produce alongside Kapital’s Kaplan and Dana Honor and Artists First’s Joel Zadak. Gottsagen is a producer. ABC Signature is the studio.
Huffman and Kaplan both have long history at ABC.
(Excerpt) Read more in: Deadline