Wilmer Valderrama Inks Talent, Development Deal With 20th TV

11:32 AM PDT 8/24/2012 by Lesley Goldberg

4
27
0
0
0
Email
Print
Comments

Under the one-year pact, he'll develop a project in which he'd star and serve as producer.

Getty Images

Wilmer Valderrama

20th Television has locked up Wilmer Valderrama.

Wilmer Valderrama to Romance Melanie Griffith on 'Raising Hope'

Jennifer Lopez, Wilmer Valderrama Projects Head to Cable Network (Exclusive)

The former That '70s Show star has signed a one-year talent holding and development pact with the studio.

As part of the deal, he will develop a project in which he'd star and serve as a producer. Should a starring vehicle not materialize this season, the studio would find a high-profile part for the actor who most recently co-starred on NBC and 20th's short-lived drama Awake.

STORY: Wilmer Valderrama to Romance Melanie Griffith on 'Raising Hope'

"He's charming, funny, talented and smart -- and if we feel that way, we know the audience will feel that way," Sharon Klein, head of casting at 20th TV, told The Hollywood Reporter. "He's an idea machine and doesn't stop working or coming up with ideas. His creative energy is contagious."

The pact continues Valderrama's relationship with the studio. It comes shortly after he signed on for a recurring role on 20th's Raising Hope, where he'll play Ricardo, the boyfriend to Melanie Griffith's Tamara. Klein noted that the studio is open to either drama or comedy projects, and while they believe he's more of a broadcast guy, they'd support a cable project should that be the direction in which Valderrama would like to go with meetings scheduled for next week.

The development front is not new territory for the actor, who created and executive produces The Ricardo Laguna Project on MTV Tres as well as the web series King of the Floor for Electus' YouTube channel NuevOn.

PHOTOS: Broadcast TV's Returning Shows for 2012-13 Season

Repped by UTA, the Collective and Gendler & Kelly, Valderrama's credits also include Larry Crowne, From Prada to Nada and voicing Manny in Disney's animated series Handy Mandy. He next appears in Spike Lee's The Girl Is in Trouble.

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit