Keenen Ivory Wayans' New Comedy Heads to ABC

 

 

 

 

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• Keenen Ivory Wayans' new comedy is heading to ABC. The untitled show will follow the "whitest" guy in America as he marries into a very large and close-knit Black family. ABC has ordered a pilot. If it's picked up, it will join the ranks of several new comedies making waves across the small screen. Wayans is set to not only write, but executive produce the show as well. As of now, he will not be starring in it. [Hollywood Reporter]

 

• Peter Chernin and his TV chief, Katherine Pope, will serve as executive producers as well. The news comes on the heels of another Chernin sale, Hieroglyph, an ancient Egypt-set drama that landed a series order at Fox.

• Among the project's appealing elements is that it's multi-generational, offering the potential for broad viewership along the lines of hit Modern Family. What's more, it has the ability to lure the growing African-American audience that is currently underserved in the broadcast marketplace. Outside of CBS' The Millers and The Crazy Ones, both lifted by juggernaut The Big Bang Theory, the sizable crop of new comedies have struggled to break through this fall.

• Wayans, repped by UTA and Jackoway Tyerman, is best known in TV circles as a creator and host of Fox's In Living Color and as host of his own short-lived syndicated talk show. More recently, the comedian has been racking up credits as a writer, producer and/or director on movies such as Scary Movie, White Chicks and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.

STORY: Keenen Ivory Wayans Signs With Inphenate (Exclusive) 

• Among the project's appealing elements is that it's multi-generational, offering the potential for broad viewership along the lines of hit Modern Family. What's more, it has the ability to lure the growing African-American audience that is currently underserved in the broadcast marketplace. Outside of CBS' The Millers and The Crazy Ones, both lifted by juggernaut The Big Bang Theory, the sizable crop of new comedies have struggled to break through this fall.

• Wayans, repped by UTA and Jackoway Tyerman, is best known in TV circles as a creator and host of Fox's In Living Color and as host of his own short-lived syndicated talk show. More recently, the comedian has been racking up credits as a writer, producer and/or director on movies such as Scary Movie, White Chicks and Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.

 

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