HBO orders Duplass Brothers “Togetherness” comedy to series

PanARMENIAN.Net - HBO continues to bulk up on comedies. The premium cable network has handed out a series order to Togetherness, a half-hour comedy from Jay and Mark Duplass, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Togetherness follows two couples living under the same roof who struggle to keep their relationships alive while pursuing their individual dreams. Jay and Mark Duplass will write, executive produce and direct the comedy. It marks their first small-screen writing gig following numerous features including Jeff, Who Lives at Home, among others. Steve Zissis will co-star, write and serve as a consulting producer, reteaming with the duo following roles in the brothers' Jeff as well as Cyrus.

Duplass Brothers Productions' producer Stephanie Langhoff will serve as a co-EP on the project. Production will begin in Los Angeles in early 2014.

Mark Duplass will star as Brett Pierson, a sweet yet odd guy with a seemingly picture-perfect life that includes wife Michelle (Two and a Half Men's Melanie Lynskey), a sold job and two kids. But under the surface, he has problems both personally and professionally.

Amanda Peet (The Good Wife, Bent) plays Tina, an outgoing and smart woman who is considering moving from Houston to Los Angeles to be closer to her sister, Michelle (Lynskey). Zissis plays Alex Pappas, an actor who has been trying to make it in Los Angeles for almost 20 years who has just been left homeless with only one friend in the world.

The series joins a new batch of comedies at the premium cable network including Mike Judge's Silicon Valley, the untitled eight-episode gay-themed Jonathan Groff vehicle, Getting On (six episodes from the creators of Big Love) and Stephen Merchant's Hello Ladies (eight episodes) as HBO bulks up on half-hours to join comedies Girls and Veep.