It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day are teaming for a straight-to-series comedy for Apple.
The untitled project, in which McElhenney will star, is described as a “cutting-edge” series that is set in a video game development studio and will explore the intricacies of the human condition through hilarious and innovative ways.
McElhenney and Day will executive produce the series under their RCG Productions banner with 3 Arts’ Michael Rotenberg and Nick Frenkel, and Ubisoft’s Gerard Guillemot, Jason Altman and Danielle Kreinik also being credited as EPs. The project hails from Lionsgate, 3 Arts and Ubisoft.
The comedy marks McElhenney and Day’s latest collaboration after FXX’s Sunny and first in which the former will star. Both actors have been busy as exec producers via RGC, which they run with Sunny‘s Glenn Howerton. That slate includes Fox’s fall comedy The Cool Kids, on which Day co-stars, writes and exec produces alongside McElhenney.
McElhenney, Day, Howerton and Frenkel are also exec producing Fox’s untitled Leah Remini comedy pilot, which is in contention for midseason. McElhenney is also co-writing the script for the multicamera comedy, in which his wife (and Sunny star) Kaitlin Olson co-stars. The producing group also were behind Fox’s two-season comedy The Mick, in which Olson starred.
The untitled video game entry is the latest comedy series to join Apple’s roster of scripted originals. The tech giant also has series orders for Dickinson, with Hailee Steinfeld; half-hour anthology Little America from The Big Sick duo Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon; Sara Bareilles-J.J. Abrams’ Little Voice; and You Think It, I’ll Say It (which is on hold after star Kristen Wiig’s departure).
The McElhenney-Day comedy is the first series to come after Lionsgate acquired a majority stake in 3 Arts. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer also referenced the project during Thursday’s earnings call: “I’m pleased to announce this afternoon that our partnership with 3 Arts Entertainment has hit the ground running with our collaboration with Ubisoft on a scripted series for Apple, a comedy created and executive produced by Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day, the creative masterminds behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
McElhenney and Day are repped by WME, 3 Arts and Sloane Offer. Season 13 of Sunny — basic cable’s longest-running comedy — returns in September on FXX.
