John Wells Kyle Richards Split - H 2015
AP ImagesTV Land’s reinvention is continuing in a big way.
The Viacom-owned cable network has inked a development deal with Warner Horizon Television for a comedy based on the life of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The untitled comedy will be written by 30 Rock alum John Riggi, who will executive produce alongside John Wells and Andrew Stearn (Shameless, Southland, The West Wing).
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The half-hour single-camera scripted comedy is set in the 1970s and inspired by Richards’ upbringing. The entry is described as a dark comedy about a woman’s struggle to raise her family and claim her own brand of independence in a world not ready to give it. Richards will co-executive produce. The comedy revolves around 40-year-old Bonnie Nolan, who has a beautiful home and three beautiful daughters. However, she also has a cheating husband. Finding herself alone after her marriage fails, Bonnie has no means to support herself or her children.
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“This project, the caliber of the people behind it, and its fearless authenticity brings TV Land to new heights,” said Keith Cox, executive vp development and original programming at TV Land.
The comedy hails from Warner Bros. Television’s cable-focused division, Warner Horizon Television, and Wells’ studio-based John Wells Productions banner.
The Richards comedy comes as TV Land has been shifting into a younger, single-camera direction with content like the already renewed Darren Star comedy Younger as well as upcoming entries Teachers, Impastor and The Gaffigan Show. The cabler is poised to say farewell this week to its first original drama, Hot in Cleveland.
For Wells, the Richards show comes after Fox passed on dramedy Studio City, which he exec produced. Showtime’s Shameless, meanwhile, is heading into its sixth season.
Richards is repped by UTA and Bette Smith Management; Wells is with CAA; and Riggi (The Comeback, The Larry Sanders Show, Will & Grace) is with UTA.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
