Two TV titans are teaming up at HBO, but they’re going to college to do it. The network and Warner Bros. have announced The Office‘s Steve Carell will star in a new series set at a campus that is co-created by Scrubs and Ted Lasso‘s Bill Lawrence.
HBO has ordered a ten-episode first season of a new comedy series from Lawrence and Matt Tarses (Scrubs, The Goldbergs, Sports Night). The two will both write the first episode and serve as executive producers on the show. Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer of Doozer Productions will also join as executive producers. As will Carell, who will pull double duty both onscreen and behind it.
The series from Warner Bros. Television does not have an official title. It does have a (somewhat sparse) logline that provides a general overview of the show. Carell will star as a man with the same job as his two real-life bosses penning the pilot. From HBO:
A single-camera comedy set on a college campus, centering on an author’s complicated relationship with his daughter.
In a press release Lawrence talked about his excitement for the series and working with his famous star. “HBO has long been a standard bearer of quality TV,” he said. “Getting to do a show there with Steve Carell is an immediate career highlight for Matt and me. Nothing can go wrong now.”
While we recognize Lawrence’s had his tongue firmly planted in his cheek with that last line, this is obviously as good a pairing as you’ll get in TV. For right now, though the question is not whether the show will succeed ( honestly, who knows!). It’s who will play Carell’s daughter on the show. The part is certain to be one of the most highly coveted in Hollywood.
Any young actress would be excited to work with Steve Carell or Bill Lawrence. But one of them will soon get to work with both.