ABC is bringing three comedy kings together.
The Disney-backed broadcast network has handed out a straight-to-series order for an untitled multicamera comedy starring Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammer and from Modern Family co-creator Chris Lloyd. The series is earmarked for the 2021-22 broadcast season.
Written by Lloyd and his longtime Modern Family cohort Vali Chandrasekaran, the series revolves around three guys who were roommates in their 20s until their warring egos drove them apart who reunite decades later for one more run at the lives they’ve always wanted.
Baldwin and Grammer will exec produce alongside Lloyd, Chandrasekaran, Jason Schrift, Matt DelPiano, Tom Russo, Adam Griffin and Jeff Morton.
The untitled comedy serves as a reunion on many levels. Lloyd previously worked with Grammer on Frasier and Fox’s short-lived Back to You. Baldwin collaborated with Chandrasekaran on NBC’s 30 Rock. And, of course, Lloyd co-created ABC’s mega-hit Modern Family, where Chandrasekaran worked as a writer on more than half of the Emmy-winning comedy’s episodes.
The new series hails from Disney-owned 20th Television, where Lloyd and Chandrasekaran have had overall deals. Lloyd, sources note, is operating without an overall deal after his last pact with the studio expired. Lloyd told The Hollywood Reporter in April that he was already kicking around ideas for a Modern Family offshoot as well as other originals after the ABC flagship wrapped its run earlier this year. “There is another possibility with actors that I admire who are considering doing television, but they’re preliminary. Having said that, Modern Family is a very tough act to follow,” he said.
The series marks a return to the network for Baldwin, who previously hosted a short-lived talk show in 2018 and is the face of ABC’s Match Game update. On the acting side, he continues to appear as Trump on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and counts 30 Rock among his credits. He next stars in Peacock’s limited series Dr. Death. He’s repped by CAA and Cavalry Media.
Grammer, meanwhile, spent last season on Fox’s short-lived drama Proven Innocent and counts The Last Tycoon, Partners, Boss, Hank, Wings, Frasier and Cheers among his plethora of TV credits. He next will be seen in features Charming the Hearts of Men, The Space Between and The God Committee. As a producer, his résumé includes Medium, The Game and Girlfriends, among others. He’s repped by UTA and Vault Entertainment.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter