After a bidding war, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s new sitcom has secured a put pilot commitment from NBC, Deadline is reporting. The talk show host will executive produce the series, and her wife will star in the comedy, which will be written by ‘Samantha Who?’ co-creator/executive producer Don Todd. The project, which will be produced by DeGeneres’ studio-based production company A Very Good Production and Warner Bros. TV, will follow dueling sisters, one of them played by de Rossi.
The sitcom will be the first for A Very Good Production after it signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. in October 2010, and hired former Comedy Central president of original programming Lauren Corrao to run it. She will executive produce the untitled comedy with DeGeneres and Todd.
Rossi is best known for her roles on ‘Ally McBeal’ and ‘Arrested Development,’ as well as ABC’s recent well-received but short-lived comedy ‘Better Off Ted.’ DeGeneres just won another Daytime Emmy for Best Talk Show, which recently started its ninth season. Their new series is the latest comedy project to start a bidding war and land a commitment, as sitcoms have become increasingly popular this pitch season.
Written by: Karen Benardello
