CBS Orders 4 Comedy Pilots

CBS made the bulk of its comedy pilot orders Tuesday with nods to four projects from established writers and producers. That includes a multi-camera mother-daughter project from Fam and In the Dark creator Corinne Kingsbury and Spider-Man: Homecoming writers John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein, Trill TV and Kapital Entertainment; multi-camera Please Hold For Frankie Wolfe, from Will & Grace creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan; multi-camera siblings comedy The Three of Us, from writer Frank Pines (The New Adventures of Old Christine) and Fulwell 73; as well as single-camera Ghosts from New Girl alums Joe Port and Joe Wiseman, an adaptation of the British series.

Of the four two, the Kingsbury/Daley/Goldstein project and The Three of Us are produced by CBS TV Studios. Ghosts, which was developed by Lionsgate through its deal with BBC Studios and was sold to CBS as a co-production with CBS TV Studios, will now have CBS TV Studios as leading studio. Please Hold For Frankie Wolfe comes from Universal Television, the studio behind Will & Grace, which is wrapping its 11th and final season on NBC.

The four join the previously ordered three CBS comedy pilots, all multi-camera/hybrid: The United States of Al, B Positive and We the Jury.

The Kingsbury/Daley/Goldstein project, which had a put pilot commitment, reunited the creative auspices of last season’s CBS comedy series Fam, creator/executive producer Kingsbury, Wendi Trilling’s TrillTV, Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment and CBS TV Studios.

The semi-autobiographical comedy is about a daughter and her mom. When Penelope’s career takes off at exactly the same time as her husband’s, they call on Penelope’s young single mom, Georgia, to help raise their son, but what they find is Georgia needs more raising than their kid.

Jonathan M Goldstein John Francis Daley — REX/Shutterstock

Originally, Kingsbury was the sole writer on the project. She was subsequently joined by her husband, Daley, with the two using joint experiences as inspiration, and his writing partner, Goldstein. Daley and Goldstein are hot feature scribes with credits like Horrible Bosses and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Kingsbury, Daley and Goldstein executive produce with Kapital Entertainment’s Kaplan and Dana Honor and TrillTV’s Trilling.

Frank-Pines-CBS — Photo courtesy of Think Tank Management

Written by Pines, The Three of Us follows adult siblings who are children of divorce and must circle the wagons when their sister’s husband unexpectedly announces he wants to call it quits on their marriage.

Pines executive produces with Fulwell 73’s Ben Winston, Jeff Grosvenor and James Corden. CBS Television Studios produces in association with Fulwell 73.

This is Pines’ second pilot order; he also was behind multi-cam comedy Man of the House, which received a pilot pickup at ABC in 2018.

The oddball comedy Ghosts follows a young couple whose dreams come true when they inherit a beautiful country house, only to find it’s both falling apart and inhabited by many of the deceased previous residents.

Ghosts originally aired on BBC One in April 2019. Produced by ITV-backed Harlots producer Monumental Television, it was created by a number of the team behind BBC comedy Horrible Histories including Mathew Baynton, Jim Howick, Simon Farnaby, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond and Martha Howe-Douglas, who all star alongside Lolly Adefope and Charlotte Ritchie. The BBC version has been renewed for a second and third season.

Written and exec produced by Kohan and Mutchnick, Please Hold For Frankie Wolfe centers on the eponymous heroine, an unfiltered, irreverent, powerful businesswoman with no personal life. When Frankie’s impossibly fragile and neurotic sister Tommie abandons Quincy — an incredibly bright inner-city child who Tommie attempted to foster — Frankie is faced with the choice of taking him in or casting him back out. Can these two lonely, damaged people find the love and companionship that has eluded them their whole lives?

This marks the duo’s return to CBS where they previously created and executive produced comedy series Partners.

Here are details about the newly picked up CBS comedy pilots:

THE THREE OF US

Multi Camera

EP/W: Frank Pines

EPs: Ben Winston, Jeff Grosvenor, James Corden (Fulwell 73)

STUDIO: CBS Television Studios in association with Fulwell 73

LOGLINE: Adult siblings who are children of divorce must circle the wagons when their sister’s husband unexpectedly announces he wants to call it quits on their marriage.

UNTITLED KINGSBURY/DALEY/GOLDSTEIN PROJECT

Multi Camera

EPs/Writers: Corinne Kingsbury & John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein

EPs: Aaron Kaplan, Dana Honor (Kapital Entertainment), Wendi Trilling

STUDIO: CBS Television Studios

LOGLINE: When Penelope’s career takes off at exactly the same time as her husband’s, they call on Penelope’s young single mom, Georgia, to help raise their son, but what they find is Georgia needs more raising than their kid.

PLEASE HOLD FOR FRANKIE WOLFE

Multi Camera

EPs/W: Max Mutchnick and David Kohan

STUDIO: Universal Television Studios

LOGLINE: Frankie Wolfe is an unfiltered, irreverent, powerful businesswoman with no personal life. When Frankie’s impossibly fragile and neurotic sister, Tommie, abandons Quincy – an incredibly bright inner-city child who Tommie attempted to foster – Frankie is faced with the choice of taking him in or casting him back out. Can these two lonely, damaged people find the love and companionship that has eluded them their whole lives?

GHOSTS

Single Camera

EPs/W: Joe Port & Joe Wiseman

EPs: Mathew Baynton, Jim Howick, Simon Farnaby, Laurence Rickard, Ben Willbond and Martha Howe-Douglas; Alison Carpenter, Debra Hayward, and Alison Owen (Monumental Television); Angie Stephenson (BBC Studios)

STUDIO: CBS Television Studios i/a/w Lionsgate Television and BBC Studios

LOGLINE: A struggling young couple’s dreams come true when they inherit a beautiful country house, only to find it’s both falling apart and inhabited by many of the deceased previous residents.