Kal Penn (Designated Survivor) is set to co-write, executive produce and star in a comedy series project, which has received a put pilot commitment fro NBC. Penn is co-writing the untitled comedy with Matt Murray, with The Good Place creator/executive producer Michael Schur supervising.
The project, produced by Universal TV where Schur and Murray have overall deals, centers on a disgraced New York City Councilman and former baseball wunderkind Garrett Shah (Penn) who finds his calling when faced with six recent immigrants in search of the American Dream.
Penn and Murray executive produce alongside Schur via his Fremulon, David Miner of 3 Arts Entertainment and Dan Spilo of Industry Entertainment.
This marks a return to comedy for Penn who, for the past two seasons, co-starred on the ABC drama Designated Survivor. He is committed to return to the White House series, which was recently picked up by Netflix following ABC’s cancellation, with a one-year deal.
Penn, whose series acting credits also include House and How I Met Your Mother, also did a stint working for the Obama administration. He is repped by UTA, Industry Entertainment and Fuller Law.
Murray has been a long-time collaborator of Schur’s. Both started their careers on Saturday Night Live. Since moving to Los Angeles, Murray has worked on Community as well as three series created/co-created by Schur, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Good Place. Murray is repped by UTA, 3 Arts and Hansen Jacobson. Schur is repped UTA, 3 Arts and Hansen Jacobson.
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