Allison Janney strikes a pose as she promotes Touchy Feely, directed by Lynn Shelton.
Chuck Lorre’s comedy pilot Mom is adding another household name.
The West Wing’s Allison Janney has joined the CBS mutlicamera entry, which centers on a newly sober single mom (Anna Faris) who tries to pull her life together in Napa Valley. Janney now on board as her mother, Bonnie.
The half-hour effort hails from Chuck Lorre Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Lorre (Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory) has a long-term deal. Lorre will pen the pilot alongside frequent collaborators Eddie Gorodetsky and Gemma Baker. Lorre and Gorodetsky share executive producer credits, while Baker serves as a producer.
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If ultimately ordered to series, this would mark a return to the primetime comedy for Janney, who starred opposite Matthew Perry in ABC’s 2011 half-hour Mr. Sunshine. Around this time last year, she was cast in NBC’s high-profile Greg Daniels comedy pilot, Friday Night Dinner, which the network ultimately passed on.
More recently, Janney starred in two Sundance Film Festival entries: Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely and Nat Faxon and Jim Rash’s The Way, Way Back. The latter was acquired by Fox Searchlight for $9.75 million — the fest’s richest deal — following a heated bidding war.
The four-time Emmy winner, who has several more films forthcoming, is repped by Gersh, Thruline Entertainment and attorney Peter Nelson at Nelson Davis. Mom is one of eight comedies in development at CBS.
Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose
