Wendi McLendon-Covey To Headline ‘St. Denis Medical’ NBC Comedy Pilot

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson have signed on to star in the untitled CBS comedy pilot starring Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr., Variety has learned. In addition, Andy Ackerman has signed on to direct the pilot. The multi-cam pilot was first announced at CBS in February. Per the official logline, “Legendary talk radio host and happily divorced ‘Poppa’ (Wayans) has his point of view challenged at work when a new female co-host (Atkins) is hired, and at home where he finds himself still parenting his adult son (Wayans Jr.), a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passion while being a responsible father and husband.” Atkins character is named Dr. Ivy Reed. She is further described as “intelligent, savvy, and bold” and hosts the radio show “Ask Dr. Reed,” where she gives “helpful advice to listeners with a modern approach on life” before she is brought in as Poppa’s new co-host.

Essence Atkins and Tetona Jackson are joining Damon Wayans and Damon Wayans Jr in the latter pair’s CBS family comedy.

Addie Morfoot Contributor Three projects pitched at CPH:FORUM – the industry program of CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen-based documentary festival – have been awarded cash prizes. They are Robin Petré’s “Only on Earth,” Iryna Tsilyk’s “Red Zone” and Yegor Troyanovsky’s “Cuba & Alaska.” The filmmakers were awarded at a ceremony in the Danish capital on Thursday. Petré’s “Only on Earth” garnered the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award worth €20,000 for best pitch. The docu, produced by Signe Skov Thomsen, and Malene Flindt Pedersen, depicts a journey deep into one of Europe’s hottest fire zones, Galicia, where wild horses roam the mountains under the watch of local cowboys. These horses are excellent at fire prevention, but now they are vanishing in the clash between humans and nature.

Wendi McClendon-Covey is opening up about Jeff Garlin leaving The Goldbergs!

former costar Jeff Garlin was “a long time coming.”When Cohen asked her how she felt about Garlin leaving after several complaints had been made about his on-set behavior, she said, “That was a long time coming. And that it finally happened it was like, ‘OK, OK.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Wendi McLendon-Covey said during a recent interview with Andy Cohen for SiriusXM that Jeff Garlin’s exit from “The Goldbergs” was “a long time coming.” The two comedians headlined the ABC sitcom from its 2013 debut until December 2021, when Garlin was fired from the show after a series of HR investigations into his alleged misconduct on set. “That was a long time coming,” McLendon-Covey said. “That it finally happened, it was like, ‘Ok, finally someone is listening to us. But that was kind of hard though because we had lost George Segal in real life. To have to go through another loss on a sitcom…you can’t keep asking your audience to mourn people. That’s not why they tune in.”

EXCLUSIVE: Elizabeth Yu and Hilda Martin have been added to the cast of the upcoming NBC drama pilot from Jenna Bans and Bill Krebs formerly known as Murder by the Book.

Wendi McLendon-Covey is speaking out about Jeff Garlin‘s from The Goldbergs.

For the past two seasons, The Goldbergs has been led by now-widowed Beverly Goldberg (Wendi McLendon-Covey). During an interview on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live Tuesday, the Bravo star asked McLendon-Covey how she feels about Beverly being a widow following the exit of fellow series star Jeff Garlin, whose character, Beverly’s husband Murray, was killed off.

Selome Hailu Allison Tolman has been cast in “St. Denis Medical,” a comedy pilot at NBC from “Superstore” and “American Auto” creator Justin Spitzer. The pilot is described as a mockumentary about an underfunded, understaffed Oregon hospital where the dedicated doctors and nurses try their best to treat patients while maintaining their own sanity. Tolman will play Alex, the supervising nurse in St. Denis’ emergency department who is dedicated to providing excellent care to her patients, often sacrificing her personal life to maintain her high standards. Tolman recently held the recurring role of Winnie McLendon in “Gaslit,” the Starz limited series based on the Watergate scandal. She is also known for starring as Molly Solverson in Season 1 of FX’s “Fargo,” which earned her a Critics Choice Award as well as nominations for an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Her other TV credits include “Why Women Kill” on Paramount+ and ABC’s “Emergence” and “Downward Dog.” In film, she has appeared in “The House,” “The Gift,” “Krampus” and “Killing Gunther.”

Deadline first reported the story.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Ronny Chieng’s Hulu comedy pilot is not being picked up to series at the streaming service, Variety has learned. The untitled pilot saw Chieng star as an analyst who is unexpectedly given the chance to be the general manager of the Brooklyn Nets when the entire front office staff quits. It was inspired by real-life Nets owner Joe Tsai. Variety exclusively reported the pilot was in the works in May 2022. Little was announced about the pilot beyond the initial report, but sources say Chieng co-wrote the pilot with Jon Pollack. Both also served as executive producers along with Melvin Mar, Jake Kasdan, and Hannah Pham. Greg Mottola directed the pilot. 20th Television was the studio, with Mar and Kasdan under an overall deal at 20th TV via The Detective Agency. According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, 20th TV and the producers plan to shop the project to other outlets.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine alum Terry Crews has been tapped as the lead and also will executive produce JumpStart, CBS’ multi-camera comedy pilot based on Robb Armstrong’s long-running comic strip. Wayne Conley (The Best Man) penned the TV adaptation for the project from Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, Wendi Trilling’s TrillTV and CBS Studios. Phill Lewis will direct and executive produce the pilot, replacing Kelly Park due to changes in the production schedule; Park is directing NBC’s comedy pilot Non-Evil Twin instead.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter Terry Crews will star in the CBS comedy pilot based on the “JumpStart” comic strip, Variety has learned. The multi-cam pilot was originally ordered at CBS in February. The official logline states that the show “follows Joe (Crews), a cop, his wife Marcy, a nurse, and Joe’s partner Crunchy. Joe and Marcy are young, hip, urban parents with old school values who are willing to sacrifice for their kids and have some laughs while doing it!” The character Joe is further described as “a devoted husband , son, father and Philadelphia police officer. He is also a proud Black man and often feels pressured to be flawless in each of his roles, especially in light of controversies surrounding cops. He is a charming and exuberant role model in his community. Joe loves his wife and family, but does come up short in hilarious and endearing ways that keep audiences cheering for him.”

EXCLUSIVE: Another Good Girls alum has joined NBC’s Jenna Bans/Bill Krebs (fka Murder By The Book) drama pilot. Michael Weaver has been tapped to direct the pilot from Good Girls creator Jenna Bans under her Universal Television-based production banner Minnesota Logging Company. Good Girls executive producer Bill Krebs will pen the script with Bans.

EXCLUSIVE: Cranked Up Films has acquired North American rights to the comedy The Country Club starring John Higgins of SNL trio Please Don’t Destroy, with Archstone Entertainment taking foreign rights. The film marking the directorial debut of Fiona Robert, who also stars, is set for release in June. 

BreAnna Bell Nancy Lenehan has signed on to join Ellie Kemper’s forthcoming comedy pilot “Drop-Off” at ABC as a series regular. She’ll play Marianne, the warm, caring and responsible mother of Julia (Kemper) who’s been taking care of her kids for the last six years. “Having been a working single mom herself, Marianne is not without compassion for Julia’s situation and she loves her grandchildren, but she’s done. Marianne has decided to live her own life from now on, and that includes having an affair with a guy named Rene and firmly taking some time for herself,” reads the character description. In addition to Kemper, she joins previously announced cast member Judy Greer.

Nancy Lenehan is set as a lead opposite Ellie Kemper in ABC’s Drop-Off (working title), a comedy pilot based on the British series Motherland, from writer Julieanne Smolinski, Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s Merman Television, Paul Feig’s Feigco Entertainment, Lionsgate and ABC Signature. Judy Greer, Karan Soni and Michaela Conlin also star.

Ben Croll Cannes acclaimed filmmaker Marie Amachoukeli and leading French studio Miyu Productions will pair on “Happy End,” a macabre comedy Amachoukeli will co-direct with Vladimir Mavounia Kouka. Set for production in 2024, the project has already received backing from Bac Films and MK2, with the latter handling international sales. Variety has scored a first look at the project, which recently presented at the Cartoon Movie pitch and co-production forum in Bordeaux. Imagining a world without death and employing a visual style reminiscent of Max Fleischer, the 2D, adult-targeted film follows Bertha King, a suicidal career soldier who has the bad to luck to finally end things right as the grim reaper hangs up his scythe. Left yearning to die while death has gone on strike, the depressed hero must navigate a morose new existence all of sudden freed from the bonds of mortality.

EXCLUSIVE: Michaela Conlin has been cast as a series regular opposite Ellie Kemper in ABC’s Drop-Off (working title), a comedy pilot based on the British series Motherland, from writer Julieanne Smolinski, Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s Merman Television, Paul Feig’s Feigco Entertainment, Lionsgate and ABC Signature. Judy Greer and Karan Soni also star.