In news that’ll elate the Bill Haverchuck in all of us, Paul Feig is set to return to scripted production for the small screen. Digital giant Yahoo! is set to move into content creation for the first time ever, ordering two new half-hour comedies to comprise their first foray into scripted comedy series.
Paul Feig, who famously created and wrote the short-lived but cult series Freaks & Geeks that launched the acting careers of James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel among others, and who went on to direct the smash hit films Bridesmaids and The Heat, will serve as executive producer on one of the series, to be entitled Other Space.
Other Space is a sci-fi/comedy that centres on a group of misfit space adventurers who accidentally stumble upon an alternative universe. Yahoo! have ordered eight episodes of the half-hour comedy, which will hit the Internet towards the end of this year, and possibly extend into 2015 as well.
The other series that Yahoo! has ordered will see Smallville and One Tree Hill executive producer Mike Tollin teaming with Curb Your Enthusiasm director Bryan Gordon on a project entitled Sin City Saints, which chronicles the goings on of a professional basketball team based in Las Vegas.
Yahoo’s move into Netflix-style production comes on the heels of modestly successful web series, such as the Bachelor-parody Burning Love, which saw success to the point that it migrated to TV proper, being picked up by the E! Network.
Feig provided a statement declaring his excitement for the project, “This show has been a passion project of mine, and for it to be one of Yahoo!’s first scripted series feels like the futuristic adventure I’ve always wanted to take.”
Whether this new series provides characters on a par with Lindsay Weir, Daniel Desario or Nick Andopolis remains to be seen. But until we see the new show and all doubt is removed, please enjoy these opening titles.
Photo: Jason Merritt via Getty Images.
