Naveen Andrews is set to star in a comedy series at Freevee.
Amazon’s ad-supported streaming service has given a straight-to-series order to The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, in which Andrews (The Dropout, The Cleaning Lady) plays the patriarch of an immigrant family from India who quickly becomes entangled with their new neighbors. Sindhu Vee (Starstruck), Megan Hilty (Smash) and Ethan Suplee (My Name Is Earl) also star.
Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios are producing the series, which comes from Black-ish alum Vijal Patel.
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“This show is from a very personal place and explores the many facets of the immigrant struggle,” said Patel. “As my parents say, the pain got funnier over time — like wine.”
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh will be told through sometimes conflicting flashbacks from an interrogation room and lay out the story of how the family quickly find themselves embroiled — romantically, personally and professionally — with a polar-opposite neighborhood family, leading to a predicament with many surprising twists. Freevee has picked up eight episodes of the show.
The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh shines a comedic light on the centuries-old, universally relatable first-generation experience,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD original content and programming at Amazon Studios. “We look forward to sharing Vijal’s personally inspired story — filled with heart, humility and humor — with the Freevee audience.”
Added Sony Pictures TV co-president Jason Clodfelter, “Vijal created not only a rich world, but a highly personal look at the immigrant experience, grounded in heart and the outrageousness of real-life families. We are thrilled to see his story come to life with our partners at Freevee.”
The cast also includes Sahana Srinivasan (For All Mankind), Arjun Sriram (Sydney to the Max) and Ashwin Sakthivel as the three children of Mahesh (Andrews) and Sudha (Vee) Pradeep and Nicholas Hamilton (It) as the son of Hilty’s and Suplee’s characters. Pete Holmes and Romy Rosemont will recur as the investigators leading the interrogation.
Patel will serve as showrunner and executive produce with Sara Gilbert (The Conners), Mandy Summers, Tom Werner and pilot director Michael Showalter.
