Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones comedies among NBC pilot orders

PanARMENIAN.Net - NBC has ordered three comedy pilots, including projects from exec producers Amy Poehler and Rashida Jones, Variety has learned.

An untitled comedy from Poehler and Charlie Grandy follows Karl, who after years of partying that earned him the “black sheep” label, returns home to compete with his brother for the family throne. Grandy (“The Mindy Project,” “The Office”) is writer on the project and will exec produce with Poehler, her producing partner Brooke Posch and Dave Becky of 3 Arts, which is producing the single-camera comedy (formerly titled “Dumb Prince”) with Poehler’s Paper Kite shingle. Universal TV is the studio.

Poehler’s former “Parks and Recreation” co-star Jones is also staying in business with NBC, as she has an exec producer credit on comedy pilot “Good Fortune,” hailing from writer/exec producers Craig Gerard and Matt Zinman (“How I Met Your Mother”). The multi-camera ensemble comedy focuses on a hyper-structured young woman whose life is upended when she starts taking advice from a mysterious fortune teller. Jones’ Le Train Train production company partner Will McCormack, who’s co-writing the “Toy Story 4” screenplay with her, is also an exec producer on “Good Fortune.” 20th Century Fox is the studio.

NBC has also ordered “The Trail,” a serialized comedy following a young big-city lawyer and his oddball defense team during a high profile murder trial in a small southern town. The single-camera comedy hails from Barge Productions and Good Session Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, and is created by writers Jeff Astrof (“The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Angie Tribeca”) and Matt Miller, who created the short lived fan-favorite series “Forever.”

All three pilot pickups come moments after NBC picked up two drama pilots on Friday, marking the network’s very strong push into pilot season early on — especially in the comedy realm.

NBC’s comedy count now totals at nine pilots in contention for 2016-17 — plus a straight-to-series sitcom “Good Place” from Mike Schur, starring Ted Danson and Kristen Bell — with Grandy and Poehler’s untitled prince project; “Good Fortune;” “The Trail;” “Imaginary Friend” from Sean Hayes’ production company; DC Comics workplace comedy “Powerless;” a project from Matt Hubbard; another from Tracey Wigfield; a vehicle for Marlon Wayans; and Dan Fogelman’s birthday ensemble dramedy.