Jeff Astrof/Bill Lawrence Family Comedy Lands At CBS With Put Pilot Commitment

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation with multiple networks bidding, CBS has nabbed a multi-camera family comedy from comedy veterans Jeff Astrof (Grounded For Life) and Scrubs and Cougar Town creator Bill Lawrence with a put pilot commitment. Written by Astrof, Middlescence centers on a  married couple that struggles to raise four adolescents: their two kids, her older brother and his mother. Warner Bros. TV and Lawrence’s studio-based Doozer Prods. are producing, with Astrof and Doozer’s Lawrence and Jeff Ingold executive producing. The family comedy stems from Astrof’s relationship with Lawrence, Doozer and Warners on the upcoming TBS comedy Ground Floor, co-created/executive produced by Lawrence. In June, Astrof, repped by ICM Partners and Michael Gendler, was brought in as executive producer/showrunner of the series in a deal that also included a two-script development deal with Warner Bros. TV. This marks the first sale this season for ICM-repped Doozer, which has four series on the air, returning Cougar Town on TBS and upcoming Ground Floor on TBS, Surviving Jack on Fox and Undateable on NBC.