The Muppets may have been canceled, but now three new comedies are in the works at ABC. According to Variety, the network has given series orders to Imaginary Mary from from Adam F. Goldberg, David Guarascio, and Doug Robinson (The Goldbergs), Samm Hodges and Michael Killen’s Downward Dog, and an untitled comedy from Spin City writer Sarah Dunn formerly called The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport.
Imaginary Mary is a live-action/CGI hybrid that centers on Alice (Jenna Elfman), “a fiercely independent career woman whose life is turned upside-down when she meets the love of her life — a divorced father with three kids. This triggers even more upheaval when the slightly unhinged imaginary friend she created as a child suddenly reappears to help her navigate the transition from single girl to a woman ready for a family.†Rachel Dratch will play the imaginary friend, and Stephen Schneider, Nicholas Coombe, Matreya Scarrwener, and Erica Trembay round out the cast. The show was initally developed for male leads and titled Imaginary Friend.
Downward Dog, meanwhile, is based on the web series of the same name and centers on “a struggling millennial, Nan (Allison Tolman), from the point of view of her lonely and philosophical dog, Martin. One session at obedience school already makes them realize that even at their worst, they may be the best thing for each other.†Lucas Neff, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Barry Rothbart, and Mo Collins also star.
The third comedy formerly titled The Second Fattest Housewife in Westport stars Katy Mixon as “a confident, unapologetic, plump wife and mother of three, who is raising her flawed family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut, filled with ‘perfect’ mommies and their ‘perfect’ offspring. Katie will let us in on her deepest, most unfiltered thoughts through voiceover as the she lives her life as the second fattest housewife in Westport.†Addition cast includes Diedrich Bader, Johnny Sequoyah, Daniel DiMaggio, Julia Butters, Carly Hughes, and Ali Wong.