Update, Monday, March 7 at 6:55 p.m.: Winter is coming. Per Deadline, Modern Family’s Ariel Winter will replace Demi Lovato as the star in NBC’s upcoming comedy series Hungry. Lovato previously stepped down from the show due to scheduling reasons, but will remain involved in the project as an executive producer alongside their manager Scooter Braun. The quick recasting will help the pilot stay on schedule, with a table read reportedly happening on Tuesday. Written by Suzanne Martin and directed by James Burrows, the show is still set to follow friends who meet in a food-issues group and together search for “the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.†According to TV Insider, Lovato previously filmed a single-cam pilot with the other cast members, but the new version with Winter will be shot in multi-cam format. We know that Valerie Bertinelli, Gabriel Iglesias, Ryan McPartlin, Alex Brightman and Ashley D. Kelley are also set to star in the pilot. But as far as a release date to look forward to? NBC is keeping us hungry.
Original story follows.
Aside from sporadic guest appearances on shows like Will & Grace, Glee, and Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn, Demi Lovato hasn’t prioritized TV stardom in a long, long time, focusing inside on their many other, largely musical accomplishments. According to TVLine, however, that all may change, now that the single-cam comedy Hungry has received a put pilot commitment on NBC.
Lovato will reportedly star in and executive produce Hungry, which features a group of “friends who belong to a food issues group†who “help each other as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.†The pilot will be written by Will & Grace alumna and Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin.
Lovato has been open about their own struggle with disordered eating. In December, the singer posted a celebratory photo shoot to Instagram in which they lined their stretch marks with gold glitter. “I used to genuinely believe recovery from an eating disorder wasn’t real,†Lovato wrote in part. “I’m so grateful that I can honestly say for the first time in my life – my dietitian looked at me and said, ‘This is what eating disorder recover looks like.’â€