TV LAND CLOSES SCRIPT DEAL FOR PILOT WITH EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MELISSA MCCARTHY AND BEN FALCONE
Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf And Rachel Ramras To Write And Executive Produce Pilot
New York, NY - July 27, 2015 - TV Land has closed a deal for a pilot script with Emmy(R) Award winner and Oscar(R) nominee Melissa McCarthy and acclaimed comedic actor/director Ben Falcone, serving as executive producers through their production company On The Day. The single-camera comedy, tentatively titled "Friends with Melissa," is written, executive produced and inspired by the real lives of Hugh Davidson, Larry Dorf and Rachel Ramras ("Mike Tyson Mysteries"), who watched as their friends from The Groundlings went on to star in blockbuster comedies and win Oscars, while they toiled away writing for children's television. Melissa McCarthy will appear in the pilot episode.
"We are continuing to build our stable of innovative, engaging and challenging comedies, which is exactly what Melissa, Ben and these writers have brought us," said Keith Cox, Executive Vice President of Development and Original Programming for TV Land. "With this script being from a group of alums from The Groundlings, we're excited to know they'll have an endless amount of creativity and interesting experiences to pull from."
McCarthy and Falcone added, "We are so excited to be working with Hugh, Rachel & Larry - such funny people, who are great friends. TV Land is a great place for this show."
This project is one of several in development for TV Land, along with the recently announced "I Shudder" starring Hamish Linklater and produced by Dan Jinks and Paul Rudnick, and the untitled John Wells/John Riggi/Warner Horizon Television project inspired by the life of Kyle Richards ("The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills").
McCarthy and Falcone are repped by CAA and MGMT. Davidson and Ramras are repped by ICM, and Dorf is repped by Odenkirk Provissiero and Gersh.
About TV Land
TV Land is the programming destination featuring the best in entertainment on all platforms for consumers in their 40s. Consisting of original programming, acquisitions and a digital portfolio, TV Land is now seen in over 98 million U.S. Homes.
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