It looks like John Mulaney’s sitcom has found a home. THR reports that the Fox network has ordered the comedy, titled Mulaney, to series after NBC developed the show but passed on it in May. The Lorne Michaels-produced multi-cam show’s original pilot (review here) starred Mulaney (who also created it), along with Martin Short, Elliott Gould, Nasim Pedrad, Griffin Newman, and Seaton Smith, but only Short and Mulaney are confirmed to return for the Fox version of the series. Pedrad, who would have left SNL to do the show at NBC but probably won’t move be able to get out of her SNL contract to go to Fox, looks like she may have her role recast along with Elliott Gould.
Check out our review of the original pilot taping here.
After NBC passed on the show, Fox ordered a new version of the pilot script in July, with the expectation being that they’d pick up six episodes if they liked the new draft, and the series order looks like it’s still for six episodes. The original pilot followed Mulaney, a popular standup and SNL writer, playing a fictionalized version of himself, struggling to be a good person while dealing with his roommates (Pedrad, Newman), game show host boss (Short), and wise gay neighbor (Gould). John Mulaney had SNL writer Marika Sawyer, Tina Fey’s 30 Rock co-showrunner Robert Carlock, and 30 Rock and Parks and Rec producer David Miner working on the pilot, but there’s no word if any of them are returning either.
This is just the latest example of Fox making the kind of smart, critically-acclaimed show NBC used to make, and one that’s filled with NBC veterans a la Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Mindy Project. It took a while, but Mulaney has finally found a home.
UPDATE: Splitsider has learned that Elliott Gould won’t be returning for the Fox version of Mulaney.
2nd UPDATE: We’ve learned that Nasim Pedrad will be reprising her role from the original pilot in Fox’s Mulaney. Her status at SNL has yet to be confirmed.