Fox Orders Live-Action Comedy Series ‘Outmatched’ & Animated ‘The Great North’

Fox has picked up to series live-action family comedy Outmatched (fka Geniuses), from LA to Vegas creator/executive producer Lon Zimmet; and animated comedy The Great North from Bob Burgers creator/executive producer Loren Bouchard and the Emmy-winning Fox animated series’ writers/co-executive producers Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux. Both hail from studio 20th Century Fox TV and are co-productions with Fox Entertainment.

The multi-camera Outmached had been a frontrunner among Fox’s four live-action comedy pilots as a possible companion to Last Man Standing (Current companion Cool Kids does not look good for renewal.). While Adam & Eve was never in serious contention, the multi-camera Patty’s Auto and single-camera Richard Lovely had some buzz. I hear Richard aLovely is likely dead though there is a small chance of it being redeveloped. On Patty’s Auto, I hear the pilot is not going forward at the moment, with some suggesting that Fox may revisit it after the upfronts.

Written and executive produced by Zimmet, Outmatched harkens back to one of Fox’s signature comedy series, Malcolm In the Middle. The multi-camera family comedy is about a blue-collar couple, played by Jason Biggs and Maggie Lawson, in South Jersey trying to get by and raise four kids, three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses.

Expanding Fox’s animated lineup has been a major priority for Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn since he joined the network a year and a half ago, The push has resulted in three new animated comedy series orders for next season. The Great North joins previously picked up new animated series Bless The Harts and Duncanville.

On the drama side, Fox today picked up to series four pilots: Prodigal Son, Deputy, NeXt and Untitled Anne Weisman/Jason Katims.

Here are details and full credits for the newly picked up Fox comedy series.

OUTMATCHED

Studio: 20th Century Fox Television, FOX Entertainment
Format: Multi-camera comedy
EP/W: Lon Zimmet
D: Jonathan Judge
Logline: A family comedy about a blue-collar couple in South Jersey trying to get by and raise four kids, three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses.
Cast:
Jason Biggs – “Mike”
Maggie Lawson – “Cay”
Connor Kalopsis – “Brian”
Ashley Boettcher – “Nicole”
Jack Stanton – “Marc”
Oakley Bull – “Leila”
Tisha Campbell-Martin – “Rita”

THE GREAT NORTH

Studio: 20th Century Fox Television, FOX Entertainment
Format: Animated comedy
Commitment: Series order
EPs/Ws:Wendy Molyneux, Lizzie Molyneux, Minty Lewis
EP/NW: Loren Bouchard
Cast: Nick Offerman, Jenny Slate, Megan Mullally, Paul Rust, Aparna Nancherla, Will Forte, Dulcé Sloan
Logline: THE GREAT NORTH follows the Alaskan adventures of the Tobin family as single dad Beef does his best to keep his weird bunch of kids close, especially as the artistic dreams of his only daughter Judy lead her away from the family fishing boat and into the glamorous world of the local mall.