'Buffy's' Marti Noxon Developing Divorce Comedy for Showtime

11:15 AM PDT 8/24/2012 by Lacey Rose, Lesley Goldberg

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She'll write and exec produce the project with Dawn Olmstead, Meryl Poster and Vicki Iovine attached as executive producers.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Marti Noxon

Showtime is turning to Marti Noxon for laughs.

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The premium cable network is in talks to develop a semi-autobiographical half-hour divorce comedy from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer executive producer. Guide to Divorce is about the relief, the emotional minefield, freedom, familial complications and sexual exploration that come with divorce after a long-term relationship. The story will be told from the perspective of four women in their 40s.

The move comes as Showtime entertainment chief David Nevins looks to push further into the comedy space. If ultimately ordered to series, Divorce would join such efforts as House of Lies and Episodes on the network's schedule.

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Noxon, best known for such series as Mad Men, Grey's Anatomy and Glee, is set to write and executive produce the project through her Luckypants shingle, with Dawn Olmstead (Prison Break), Meryl Poster (Chicago, The Cider House Rules) and Vicki Iovine (author of The Girlfriends' Guides book series) attached as executive producers.

WME-repped Noxon also is attached to Syfy's Proof, a sci-fi drama centering on a tech genius who offers a reward for anyone who can find proof of life after death following his parents' deaths. She'll co-write the project, which the network has given a put-pilot commitment, alongside feature filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan. She is currently writing Glass Castle for Summit, with Jennifer Lawrence set to star, and Tink, starring Elizabeth Banks, for Disney.

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Meanwhile, Showtime is bidding farewell to two other female-centered comedies in its portfolio. Mary-Louise Parker starrer Weeds will wrap its eight-season run in September, while The Big C with Laura Linney will conclude after four hourlong episodes next year.

Semi-autobiographical material continues to be a hot trend on the small screen. Accidentally on Purpose producer Andrea Abbate sold a comedy project to ABC this week based on her dysfunctional family. Fox, meanwhile, is preparing to launch Ben and Kate, a buzzy comedy loosely based on showrunner Dana Fox's brother. The half-hour, starring Nat Faxon and Dakota Johnson, centers on a single woman who gets an assist from her idiot brother as she raises her young daughter. Midseason, ABC will roll out How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life, which is based on the life of showrunner Claudia Lonow.