NBC is developing a new series based on Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfus' classic, hilarious, Frank Oz-directed comedy What About Bob? This new series will reboot the story, and this time around it will have a female lead. The title of the series will be What About Barb?
According to Deadline, What About Barb? centers on a psychotherapist named Leo, "who tries to cut ties with her most overbearing patient but is unsuccessful and gains an annoying family member in the process."
What About Bob? is one of my favorite comedies of all time, and I hope this series can do it justice. I'm curious to know who they will end up casting in the roles of Barb and Leo.
What would be funny if they got the actress who played Barb in Stranger Things to play Barb in this new series, but I seriously doubt that's going to happen.
According to Deadline, What About Barb? centers on a psychotherapist named Leo, "who tries to cut ties with her most overbearing patient but is unsuccessful and gains an annoying family member in the process."
What About Bob? is one of my favorite comedies of all time, and I hope this series can do it justice. I'm curious to know who they will end up casting in the roles of Barb and Leo.
What would be funny if they got the actress who played Barb in Stranger Things to play Barb in this new series, but I seriously doubt that's going to happen.
- 1/26/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
What About Bob? is another hilarious Frank Oz film being remade with female stars. Unlike the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels remake starring Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway, the new version of What About Bob? is being made for television, not for theaters. The NBC comedy, titled What About, Barb?, hails from writers and executive producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, who worked on Dilbert and The It Crowd. Below, learn […]
The post NBC Orders Gender-Swapped ‘What About Bob?’ Reboot appeared first on /Film.
The post NBC Orders Gender-Swapped ‘What About Bob?’ Reboot appeared first on /Film.
- 1/25/2017
- by Jack Giroux
- Slash Film
Developing TV is always a crap shoot: For every series that actually gets made, hundreds never leave the page. And even if a show makes it to air, the odds of survival are low.
That’s if you even make it on the air. Over the years, there have been many cases of series that were developed, cast, produced, announced and even given an airdate – only to be yanked at the very last moment.
Most recently, A&E was forced to pull its series “Escaping the Kkk” (formerly known as “Generation Kkk”) after the network discovered that some of the documentary’s subjects had been paid to participate.
Read More: A&E Cancels Ku Klux Klan Series After It Stumbles with Another Holiday Headache
Scandal is one way for a show to quickly lose its slot: In 2010, Fox had to similarly yank its new game show “Our Little Genius” just days before launch,...
That’s if you even make it on the air. Over the years, there have been many cases of series that were developed, cast, produced, announced and even given an airdate – only to be yanked at the very last moment.
Most recently, A&E was forced to pull its series “Escaping the Kkk” (formerly known as “Generation Kkk”) after the network discovered that some of the documentary’s subjects had been paid to participate.
Read More: A&E Cancels Ku Klux Klan Series After It Stumbles with Another Holiday Headache
Scandal is one way for a show to quickly lose its slot: In 2010, Fox had to similarly yank its new game show “Our Little Genius” just days before launch,...
- 1/5/2017
- by Michael Schneider
- Indiewire
Had these pilots been given the green light, we might have been without Breaking Bad, 24, Hannibal, Community and more…
It’s not all grumble and moan round here when TV networks decline to pick up pilots. Sometimes, we’re even grateful.
Hindsight teaches that every so often, passing on a particular show is the best thing a channel could have done. Not ordering one pilot to series spurs its creators on to start another, and frees up its cast to join new projects.
Had the failures below all thrived, there’s a chance we could now be living in a world with no Breaking Bad, Hannibal, or even South Park. Had these pilots gone on to enjoy healthy, lengthy lives, then Jack Bauer, Oberyn Martell, Chandler Bing and more might all be unrecognisable today.
Here then, are the TV pilots we’re grateful weren’t taken to series because their...
It’s not all grumble and moan round here when TV networks decline to pick up pilots. Sometimes, we’re even grateful.
Hindsight teaches that every so often, passing on a particular show is the best thing a channel could have done. Not ordering one pilot to series spurs its creators on to start another, and frees up its cast to join new projects.
Had the failures below all thrived, there’s a chance we could now be living in a world with no Breaking Bad, Hannibal, or even South Park. Had these pilots gone on to enjoy healthy, lengthy lives, then Jack Bauer, Oberyn Martell, Chandler Bing and more might all be unrecognisable today.
Here then, are the TV pilots we’re grateful weren’t taken to series because their...
- 2/24/2015
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
NBC is pressing control-alt-delete on "The It Crowd."
The network is once again trying to reboot the popular British comedy. According to Deadline, uber-producer Bill Lawrence ("Cougar Town," "Scrubs") has signed a deal for a put pilot (if it doesn't air, it earns a fee).
"The It Crowd" follows the workplace shenanigans of two tech support workers who a bit socially-inept. They have to deal with a new female boss, who is a bit computer-inept.
This is the second time NBC has tried to make an American version of "The It Crowd." In 2006, it picked up a pilot starring Joel McHale of "Community," but the series never filmed more episodes. McHale then headlined "Community," which went to run for six five seasons and a movie sixth season on Yahoo.
NBC is clearly looking to shore up its comedy lineup. With the departure of "Parks and Recreation" after this season, and...
The network is once again trying to reboot the popular British comedy. According to Deadline, uber-producer Bill Lawrence ("Cougar Town," "Scrubs") has signed a deal for a put pilot (if it doesn't air, it earns a fee).
"The It Crowd" follows the workplace shenanigans of two tech support workers who a bit socially-inept. They have to deal with a new female boss, who is a bit computer-inept.
This is the second time NBC has tried to make an American version of "The It Crowd." In 2006, it picked up a pilot starring Joel McHale of "Community," but the series never filmed more episodes. McHale then headlined "Community," which went to run for six five seasons and a movie sixth season on Yahoo.
NBC is clearly looking to shore up its comedy lineup. With the departure of "Parks and Recreation" after this season, and...
- 10/17/2014
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
Back in 2007, Joel McHale was set to play the lead role in the American version of The It Crowd. In the darkest timeline imaginable, that show became a hit and ran for years and years, making McHale unavailable for Community, which, having cast a lesser actor in the lead role, was never picked up at all. In our timeline, though, the remake was scrapped at the last minute and all the cast went on to better things. Now, seven years later, it's time to try again: NBC has given a put pilot commitment to another version of The It Crowd from Scrubs' Bill Lawrence, Neil Goldman, and Garett Donovan. Here's hoping it's less, uh ... faithful to the original than the first one was.
- 10/17/2014
- by Nate Jones
- Vulture
An Ebola TV series is in the works Producers Lynda Obst and Ridley Scott are developing a limited series for Fox TV studios based on the 1994 best-seller “The Hot Zone,” which covers the entire history of the disease. The series will also cover the current Ebola outbreak. Maria Menounos: My car was attacked while leaving JFK airport Someone smashed the E! host’s car window with a tire iron while she was merging onto the expressway, which at first she assumed was gunfire. NBC is remaking “The It Crowd" for 2nd time Bill Lawrence is working on remaking the hit UK comedy for NBC, which remade “The It Crowd” in 2006 with Joel McHale. “The It Crowd” is about a group of nerds stuck in the basement of a major corporation.
- 10/16/2014
- by Norman Weiss
- Hitfix
You know how sometimes you go to Chipotle and you’re midway through having the guy build your burrito—then you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake? Maybe you should have gone for the chicken instead of the beef, or a wheat tortilla instead of white, or perhaps you finally decide you don’t even like Chipotle in the first place. This also happens to TV executives when ordering shows.
Sometimes, even after slogging through months of development, script revisions, a pilot order, a series order, and even announcing a premiere date, executives will still stop and go: Wait,...
Sometimes, even after slogging through months of development, script revisions, a pilot order, a series order, and even announcing a premiere date, executives will still stop and go: Wait,...
- 7/1/2014
- by James Hibberd
- EW - Inside TV
Tonight on Movie News After Dark, we explore some of the unfriendly feelings that are had toward J.J. Abrams and his Star Trek films, we look at the real life Tony Stark (maybe), see a bit about Natalie Portman’s latest and as always, try to wedge in some Doctor Who. Why We Love, Hate and Love to Hate J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek – Over at Movies.com, Evan Saathoff writes an excellent piece about the mixed emotions the geekosphere seems to have around J.J. and his pair of Trek films. It’s tonight’s must-read. Hannibal and the consequences of violence – In an interview with Buzzfeed, Hannibal showrunner Bryan Fuller talks about violence and death on TV. The man’s handle on such things is the core reason why Hannibal is such a striking show. That and Mads Mikkleson. Jane doesn’t have traction – The eternally troubled production, Jane Got a Gun, starring...
- 5/16/2013
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Between now and June 28, the deadline for Emmy voters to return nomination ballots, EW.com is running a series called Emmy Watch, featuring highlight clips and interviews with actors, producers, and writers whom EW TV critic Ken Tucker has on his wish list for the nominations announcement on July 19.
As disgraced former lawyer-turned-community college student Jeff Winger, Joel McHale has delivered a few speeches in his time on Community. The show even poked fun at Jeff’s frequent soliloquizing in an episode last season. But few scenes were a better showcase for actor and character than the courtroom drama which...
As disgraced former lawyer-turned-community college student Jeff Winger, Joel McHale has delivered a few speeches in his time on Community. The show even poked fun at Jeff’s frequent soliloquizing in an episode last season. But few scenes were a better showcase for actor and character than the courtroom drama which...
- 6/28/2012
- by Darren Franich
- EW - Inside TV
Just days after it’s announced renewal and a little over 24 hours after the third season finale, Community showrunner Dan Harmon is officially out the door. It had been reported essentially since the second of the show’s renewal, considering Harmon had only signed a one year contract.
Harmon is reported to have been given a “consulting producer” credit but may not be involved with the show. Coming in as the new showrunners are former writers/executive producers of The It Crowd and Just Shoot Me, Moses Port and David Guarascio.
The exit doesn’t really come as a surprise to me, as Harmon commented on the rumors but never flat out denied them which lead me to believe he was indeed gone. That being said, as a fan of the show I’m still glad about Community being back next season, but the fact that Harmon and several of...
Harmon is reported to have been given a “consulting producer” credit but may not be involved with the show. Coming in as the new showrunners are former writers/executive producers of The It Crowd and Just Shoot Me, Moses Port and David Guarascio.
The exit doesn’t really come as a surprise to me, as Harmon commented on the rumors but never flat out denied them which lead me to believe he was indeed gone. That being said, as a fan of the show I’m still glad about Community being back next season, but the fact that Harmon and several of...
- 5/19/2012
- by Scott Smith
- Nerdly
The final trends covered in this brief overview of this year’s pilot season are the new bout of network sitcoms and also the new cable shows that are fighting their way onto your screens.
Sitcoms appear to be following the trend of success stories like Modern Family and New Girl and becoming more single-camera based than traditional multi-camera. Multi-camera sitcoms being the shows recorded in front of audiences on sets a la Friends and Seinfeld, whilst single camera sitcoms are the ones that are shot more like films with plenty of different locations a la Parks and Recreation and Community. This trend doesn’t seem to apply, however, if you’re CBS, the network appears to be enjoying a renaissance of multi-camera sitcoms with the successes of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory which were both picked up for multiple seasons earlier this year.
The...
Sitcoms appear to be following the trend of success stories like Modern Family and New Girl and becoming more single-camera based than traditional multi-camera. Multi-camera sitcoms being the shows recorded in front of audiences on sets a la Friends and Seinfeld, whilst single camera sitcoms are the ones that are shot more like films with plenty of different locations a la Parks and Recreation and Community. This trend doesn’t seem to apply, however, if you’re CBS, the network appears to be enjoying a renaissance of multi-camera sitcoms with the successes of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory which were both picked up for multiple seasons earlier this year.
The...
- 3/21/2012
- by Fred Salmon
- Obsessed with Film
HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West has tapped Zooey Deschanel (New Girl, [500] Days of Summer) and Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) to co-host the Wgaw’s 2012 Writers Guild Awards L.A. show on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at the Hollywood Palladium.
“I am excited to host the WGA awards. It should be a lot of fun! I am very honored to be included,” said Deschanel.
“I’m deeply excited to co-host the WGA Awards with Zooey Deschanel. She has that rare combination in that she’s beautiful, funny, and smells good. Without writers, movies and TV would be worse than untreated syphilis, so I’m thrilled to hand these fine people awards for their great work,” said McHale.
“I love that I’m working with the stars of New Girl and Community. As Abed might say on Community, ‘This is going to be the greatest sitcom crossover since The Jeffersons...
“I am excited to host the WGA awards. It should be a lot of fun! I am very honored to be included,” said Deschanel.
“I’m deeply excited to co-host the WGA Awards with Zooey Deschanel. She has that rare combination in that she’s beautiful, funny, and smells good. Without writers, movies and TV would be worse than untreated syphilis, so I’m thrilled to hand these fine people awards for their great work,” said McHale.
“I love that I’m working with the stars of New Girl and Community. As Abed might say on Community, ‘This is going to be the greatest sitcom crossover since The Jeffersons...
- 1/25/2012
- by Josh Abraham
- Hollywoodnews.com
Exclusive: After a lengthy four-way bidding war among ABC, NBC, Fox and CBS, Big Men, a comedy from Irish actor-comedian (and Bridesmaids standout) Chris O’Dowd and writer-producers Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, has landed at NBC with a script commitment plus significant penalty. Setting the single-camera project at the network of The Biggest Loser seems appropriate as it revolves around a group of men who meet at a weight loss clinic. O’Dowd will write the script based on his idea, with Port and Wiseman on board as showrunners. The three will executive produce with 3 Arts’ Dave Becky and Nick Frenkel for 20th Century Fox TV. O’Dowd had been enjoying a solid acting career in the U.K., including starring on the popular series The It Crowd. His career shifted into high gear this summer with his breakout performance in the runaway hit Bridesmaids. This marks O’Dowd’s American writing debut.
- 10/27/2011
- by NELLIE ANDREEVA
- Deadline TV
For those who think Joel McHale is playing himself on the NBC comedy "Community," consider his character, Jeff Winger. A shallow, snarky hipster who was fired from his high-powered attorney job after it was discovered he faked having a degree, Jeff is forced to enroll in community college to start a new life. He forms a study group with the sole purpose of bedding hot blonde Britta (Gillian Jacobs) and becomes the de facto leader of a group of misfits he holds in what can best be described as a kind of affectionate disdain. McHale is so effortlessly breezy and confident as Winger, it’s easy to see why people would assume he shares more than a few traits in common with his television counterpart. In real life, McHale is as clever and funny as Jeff but in a kinder, less sarcastic manner. In fact, the butt of his jokes...
- 1/19/2011
- backstage.com
Might this be the end of the road for Joel McHale on "The Soup"? According to The Hollywood Reporter, the snarky clip presenter has landed the lead role in the NBC comedy pilot "Community," playing a lawyer who has to return to community college when his college degree is rendered invalid. This is the second time an NBC pilot has potentially endangered McHale's role as host of the popular E! series "The Soup." NBC actually ordered the comedy "The It Crowd" to series, but it never aired on the network and McHale was able to continue at E! The "Community" pilot...
- 2/23/2009
- by HitFix Staff
- Hitfix
NBC might be pulling the plug on the midseason comedy The IT Crowd.
The network made headlines in May by not putting a single new comedy series on its fall schedule for the first time in 30 years and by ordering only one new half-hour series, "IT," for midseason.
The hybrid multi-/single-camera "IT," from Universal Media Studios and American Idol producer FremantleMedia North America, is an ensemble comedy set in an IT department that stars Joel McHale and Rocky Carroll. Despite being based on a British format, which is the forte of new NBC chief Ben Silverman and his top lieutenant Teri Weinberg -- who, as producers at Reveille, developed a string of British comedy format adaptations, including NBC's Emmy-winning The Office -- they didn't quite spark to "IT," sources said. The series hasn't gone into production, though a couple of scripts have been written.
Despite IT's possible demise, NBC still could avoid a total new comedy drought this season. The network is casting the half-hour pilot Kath & Kim, a Reveille/UMS adaptation of the hit Australian comedy.
The network made headlines in May by not putting a single new comedy series on its fall schedule for the first time in 30 years and by ordering only one new half-hour series, "IT," for midseason.
The hybrid multi-/single-camera "IT," from Universal Media Studios and American Idol producer FremantleMedia North America, is an ensemble comedy set in an IT department that stars Joel McHale and Rocky Carroll. Despite being based on a British format, which is the forte of new NBC chief Ben Silverman and his top lieutenant Teri Weinberg -- who, as producers at Reveille, developed a string of British comedy format adaptations, including NBC's Emmy-winning The Office -- they didn't quite spark to "IT," sources said. The series hasn't gone into production, though a couple of scripts have been written.
Despite IT's possible demise, NBC still could avoid a total new comedy drought this season. The network is casting the half-hour pilot Kath & Kim, a Reveille/UMS adaptation of the hit Australian comedy.
- 9/13/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
ABC and Fox have firmed up their rosters of new series for next season, handing out pickup papers to 10 and seven new scripted shows, respectively.
Late Sunday, ABC also picked up an 11th pilot, the 20th Century Fox TV-produced comedy Miss/Guided, to series, which will now become a co-production with ABC Studios.
Additionally, ABC is bringing back two midseason entries -- the drama October Road and the comedy Notes From the Underbelly -- with 13-episode orders, while Fox has renewed the freshman comedy 'Til Death.
Meanwhile, the NBC Universal TV Studio-produced Aliens in America, about a Pakistani Muslim exchange student, has emerged as an unlikely frontrunner on the comedy side at the CW. The pilot from writers Moses Port and David Guarascio, who also are behind NBC's newly ordered comedy series The IT Crowd, was shot months ago. But according to sources, if it is picked up to series, Aliens would not be produced by NBC Uni TV but by the network's sister studios, CBS Paramount Network TV and Warner Bros. TV.
A third CW drama has moved closer to a series order as the network has given the go-ahead for high-level staffing offers to be made on the untitled South Africa project.
Late Sunday, ABC also picked up an 11th pilot, the 20th Century Fox TV-produced comedy Miss/Guided, to series, which will now become a co-production with ABC Studios.
Additionally, ABC is bringing back two midseason entries -- the drama October Road and the comedy Notes From the Underbelly -- with 13-episode orders, while Fox has renewed the freshman comedy 'Til Death.
Meanwhile, the NBC Universal TV Studio-produced Aliens in America, about a Pakistani Muslim exchange student, has emerged as an unlikely frontrunner on the comedy side at the CW. The pilot from writers Moses Port and David Guarascio, who also are behind NBC's newly ordered comedy series The IT Crowd, was shot months ago. But according to sources, if it is picked up to series, Aliens would not be produced by NBC Uni TV but by the network's sister studios, CBS Paramount Network TV and Warner Bros. TV.
A third CW drama has moved closer to a series order as the network has given the go-ahead for high-level staffing offers to be made on the untitled South Africa project.
- 5/14/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Famke Janssen has signed on to topline NBC's cop drama from House creator/executive producer David Shore.
The untitled NBC Universal TV Studio project, from Shore and House writer Peter Blake, is a light drama with procedural elements that centers on a female cop (Janssen).
"We're thrilled to have her -- she's smart, funny and somewhat attractive," Shore quipped.
Last year, Janssen starred in the summer blockbuster X-Men: The Last Stand, reprising her role as Jean Grey/Phoenix, a part she has played in all three X-Men movies. She most recently wrapped the indies The Ten, which premiered this month at the Sundance Film Festival, and Turn the River.
On TV, Janssen had a role on FX's hit drama Nip/Tuck.
Janssen, whose feature credits also include Don't Say a Word and Hide and Seek, is repped by CAA, manager Emily Gerson Saines of Brookside Artist and attorney Kevin Yorn.
In other pilot news:
* Rocky Carroll is set to co-star in NBC's comedy pilot The IT Crowd. The NBC Uni TV/FremantleMedia North America project centers on three misfits.
The untitled NBC Universal TV Studio project, from Shore and House writer Peter Blake, is a light drama with procedural elements that centers on a female cop (Janssen).
"We're thrilled to have her -- she's smart, funny and somewhat attractive," Shore quipped.
Last year, Janssen starred in the summer blockbuster X-Men: The Last Stand, reprising her role as Jean Grey/Phoenix, a part she has played in all three X-Men movies. She most recently wrapped the indies The Ten, which premiered this month at the Sundance Film Festival, and Turn the River.
On TV, Janssen had a role on FX's hit drama Nip/Tuck.
Janssen, whose feature credits also include Don't Say a Word and Hide and Seek, is repped by CAA, manager Emily Gerson Saines of Brookside Artist and attorney Kevin Yorn.
In other pilot news:
* Rocky Carroll is set to co-star in NBC's comedy pilot The IT Crowd. The NBC Uni TV/FremantleMedia North America project centers on three misfits.
- 1/30/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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