It looks like Fred Willard has found his next job.
HBO and BBC Two have skipped over the pilot stage and ordered direct to series “Family Tree,” an improvisational sitcom from Christopher Guest in the tradition of Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”
Guest, who co-wrote (as starred as Nigel Tufnel in) “This Is Spinal Tap” before he went on to co-write and direct the similarly improvised comedies “Waiting For Guffman,” “Best In Show,” “A Mighty Wind” and “For Your Consideration,” will write, direct and co-star in the new series.
“Family Tree” will star Chris O’Dowd (who played Kristen Wiig’s cop love interest in “Bridesmaids”) as a man trying to track down his real family.
The first season is expected to comprise about eight episodes, according to Deadline Hollywood.
This is far from Guest’s first TV project. He was a “primetime player” alongside fellow “National Lampoon Radio Hour” vets Bill Murray and Brian-Doyle Murray on ABC’s “Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell,” appeared on “All in the Family” with Rob Reiner and “Laverne & Shirley” with Michael McKean, and, most famously, served as a writer-performer on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” during its 1984-85 season.
Find all of Deadline’s story on the matter here.
