The comedic wit of Steve Carell will someday soon join the ranks of Gary Shandling, Robert Wuhl, Larry David, Jeremy Piven, Louis C. K., Danny McBride and others when he appears in an HBO comedy. That’s right, in a quick little press release HBO has announced that Carell will get a 10-episode comedy series to add to his filmography. Okay, for accuracy there was one episode of Ricky Gervais’s LIFE’S TOO SHORT in 2012 but we decided that doesn’t count.
Certainty Steve Carell, of The Office, Angie Tribeca, and many a great movie is more than enough to make us excited here, but the creative team with him on this show adds to that as well. Emmy-winner Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Scrubs) and Emmy-nominee Matt Tarses ( Sports Night, Scrubs) will write the first episode and executive produce the upcoming Warner Bros. Television series.
The specifics of the show are very vague at this point but we will keep you posted as this show fleshes out. Below is the exact press release, including quotes from HBO executives and Lawrence.
HBO has given a 10-episode, straight-to-series order for a new half-hour comedy starring and executive produced by eleven-time Emmy® Award nominee Steve Carell. Emmy®-winner Bill Lawrence (“Ted Lasso,” “Shrinking,” “Scrubs”) and Emmy®-nominee Matt Tarses (“Scrubs,” “The Goldbergs,” “Sports Night”) will write the first episode and executive produce the upcoming Warner Bros. Television series.
Bill Lawrence & Matt Tarses
Logline: A single-camera comedy set on a college campus, centering on an author’s complicated relationship with his daughter.
Amy Gravitt, Executive Vice President, HBO & Max Comedy Programming, quote: “The combination of Steve Carell and Bill Lawrence promises to be full of great laughs, warmth, and charm. We’re thrilled to be the home for this long overdue collaboration.”
Bill Lawrence, writer and executive producer, quote: “HBO has long been a standard bearer of quality TV. Getting to do a show there with Steve Carell is an immediate career highlight for Matt and me. Nothing can go wrong now.”
Channing Dungey, Warner Bros. Television Group Chairman and CEO, quote: “We’re so excited to be collaborating with the dream team of Steve Carell, Bill Lawrence, and Matt Tarses on what is sure to be a brilliant new series. Collectively, they have been at the center of some of the most iconic and successful shows in television history. With thanks to our partners at HBO, we look forward to bringing them together to deliver the next great comedy.”
About Steve Carell: He is currently starring on-stage at The Lincoln Center in “Uncle Vanya” and next resumes his voice role in “Despicable Me 4” and will segue into the Netflix comedy series “The Four Seasons,” alongside Tina Fey, which is an adaptation of the original film starring Alan Alda and Carol Burnett.
Credits: The untitled project is executive produced by Bill Lawrence, Jeff Ingold, and Liza Katzer of Doozer Productions and Matt Tarses. The series is produced by Doozer in association with Warner Bros. Television, where both Doozer and Tarses are under overall deals. Starring and executive produced by Steve Carell. The first episode is written by Bill Lawrence and Matt Tarses.
About Steve Carell: He is currently starring on-stage at The Lincoln Center in “Uncle Vanya” and next resumes his voice role in “Despicable Me 4” and will segue into the Netflix comedy series “The Four Seasons,” alongside Tina Fey, which is an adaptation of the original film starring Alan Alda and Carol Burnett.