TCA: ‘About A Boy,’ ‘Parenthood’ To Share TV Universe At Crossover-Happy NBC

Looks like NBC‘s got crossover fever, not just in the crime drama department but in its comedy slate. A few hours after Chicago PD creator Dick Wolf teased that show’s upcoming crossovers with Chicago Fire and Law & Order: SVU, About A Boy EP Jason Katims revealed today at TCA that the new half-hour comedy does indeed exist in the same TV universe as his other San Francisco-set show, Parenthood. The small screen adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel of the same name premieres February 21 before settling into its Tuesday 9 PM slot and stars New Girl‘s David Walton as Will, a bachelor man-child who befriends the 11-year-old misfit kid next door (Benjamin Stockham) and his single mother Fiona (Minnie Driver). Walton popped up briefly this week on Parenthood to set up the bridge between the shows. “It turns out Will also has his own poker game so Dax Shepard will be making an appearance as Crosby Braverman on About A Boy,” said Katims.

Related: NBC’s ‘Chicago PD’, ‘Chicago Fire’ & ‘Law & Order: SVU’ To Crossover Through Season

The pilot episode pretty much covers the events of Hornby’s book and subsequent film adaptation starring Hugh Grant, right down to Marcus’s performance at the school talent show (substituting One Direction for Roberta Flack). Katims explained that squeezing the book into the pilot allows for the show’s makers to use it as a jumping off point, then tell their own stories and make it their own. Check out a newly released promo for About a Boy: