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EXCLUSIVE: Barring some unforeseen circumstance, I’m hearing that Friends actor Matthew Perry’s much ballyhooed TV comeback series will end up at ABC, despite NBC’s best efforts to get the Sony Television show. Perry, who recently turned 40, not only has been developing but also co-writing and exec-producing the single-camera comedy about — what else? — a 40-year-old who starts to reevaluate his life. I can see why all the networks were so hot for this project, given its pedigree. In addition to Perry, it involves Sony-based Alex Barnow and Mark Firek, who will pen the script with him and exec produce, plus Tommy Schlamme (who worked with Perry on Friends, The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) to direct and exec produce, as well as Sony TV-based Jamie Tarses, who helped develop Friends at NBC and much later dated Perry. This sounds like the kind of series which, if done well, could have been a gamechanger for NBC. Instead, by going to ABC where entertainment czar Steve McPherson is on a hot streak this season, the show at least will get sampled.
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Great for the alphabet. I’m glad NBC is churning out nothing but crap recently. Oh wait, they still have Heroes. But where are the viewers?
A comedy series about a forty-something?
That’s truly original, exactly what the world’s broadcasting companies need to satisfy their mature viewers clamour for soul searching self-awareness and understanding…. zzzzz
Wait, so if “the project is being pitched to networks this week”, how has ABC already ended up with it? Unless they unleashed their time-travel devices from LOST and/or FLASH FORWARD.
The show wouldn’t have been a game changer for NBC anymore than Studio 60 was a game changer. Big names (which NBC isn’t even likely to attract right now) aren’t going to fix things for them. Everyone knows that (like with NBC’s own ER and Friends) shows make stars and not the other way around. If NBC wants to succeed they need to start going after concepts that are different from what’s already on tv. That’s why Heroes was a success when it started. And look at ABC–they were a mess when Desperate Housewives and Lost came along. Those shows were risky and different, but the network had nothing to lose and it paid off. Shows like Mercy and Trauma, on the other hand, are the definition of safe. It’s no wonder NBC is in last place.
I second that. A show about a 40-year-old re-evaluating his life? Sounds doomed from the start. I’m actually a huge Perry fan, but you need a show to be about something in order for people to watch it.
So “The Matthew Perry Show” is automatically a “gamechanger” while “Joey” was “money wasted”?
Every actors narcissistic fantasy. I know! Lets make a TV show about ME! We’ll call it “Matty”.
Forgive me, but the name Matthew Perry doesn’t normally make me think “Gamechanging TV”.
Studio 60 was great…but that was hardly because of Perry. Perhaps a different actor in the role may have boosted that series.
As for Friends, you try to watch a re-run episode of that these days. It doesn’t hold up.
I’m sure I’m in the target demo for this kind of series and I don’t know anyone who’s going to drop everything to see a show with Perry in it.
Some of these comments surprise me. How can you read a description as vague as “a 40-year-old who starts to reevaluate his life” and form an opinion? Really, that’s enough?
Describing a show as “friends living in an apartment building” can include great shows (i.e. Friends) as easily as terrible shows (i.e. How I Met Your Mother minus Neil Patrick Harris).
There’s no way to judge this show at this point, unless you simply don’t care for Matthew Perry, which I can definitely understand.
ABC partners “The Perry Project” with “Cougartown.”
Aniston cameos on the latter the same night that Schwimmer cameos on Matt’s show.
ABC wins the night in a landslide.
It’s all in the script. T.V. makes stars…Matthew is talented and a good guy. Hope he can stick to his vision and give it the best shot. His friend Courtney is doing fine by ABC at the moment.
Ugh. Who cares. Did you guys see what Perry did when he had control of his showtime show? It was unwatchable. Showtime made the right choice to put it on the shelf.
McPherson is a star fucker and goes after “stars” instead of material. Just look at the comedy slate they have.
Ironically the only good comedies they have are MF and BOT and they don’t have huge stars. CT isn’t funny and is mildy irritating, Middle is just a boring Malcolm ripoff and Hank is a show 15 years late.
That Showtime pilot he did was the worst piece of dreck. Perry has a “think tank” of writers (old loser poker drug buddies) who punch up his stuff. It was so bad. Hopefully he will hire a real writer for this. ABC should be careful. I can’t believe Peter Tolan was involved in that last project. Matt should be an actor for hire. Period. He has real talent. Just no taste. Or no one to tell him no.
Wasn’t this show originally a Showtime pilot that they turned down? that project was called “The End of Steve” and it had Rescue Me’s Peter Tolan producing. It sounds like a similar concept anyway. Perry cant be such a hot property if a second rate cable outlet like Showtime passed on him.
Please turn your head to the left and cough.
One more time.
Thanks, but no thanks.
First, I saw Matt Perry a couple of weeks ago — he’s 40? Looks more like 50 – but that’s what a lot of drugs and hard livin’ will do to you. And when did he become a writer? Anyone know… is he a story guy or a joke guy? I’m guessing neither. But fortunately he has Barnow and Firek to help — They’re mid-level writers from Til Death! Congratulations ABC! Looks like you have another disaster on your hands.
FYI…Matthew was a writer way before he was an actor on FRIENDS 15 years ago! He & Andrew Hill Newman penned a script in 1992-93 titled ‘Maxwell House’ that got picked up by Warner Bros. and then got pitched to NBC. NBC was going to pick it up but passed b/c they had a similar show in the works titled ‘Six of One’ (a.k.a. ‘Insomnia Cafe’ ‘Friends Like Us’ ‘Friends Like These’ ‘Across The Hall’) which eventually became called, FRIENDS!
In 1999, he also wrote a script for a movie titled Imaging Emily.
All NBC got is this Law and Order, Heroes, Chuck and Leno. Everything else on there is awful.
Mercy, I hated it.Trauma is just like ER without anyone we recognize.
NBC where the hell are your bread and butter -crappy reality shows!
5 hours a week of decent shows lost to Jay Leno and his schlock. No wonder older folks (over 45?) couldn’t give a rats fanny about the junk hitting the airwaves on NBC or any of the other networks pouring out the reality crud from the honey wagon’s holding tanks. Thank you to all the reality producers(??) for destroying that which was once something to “must see” on t.v. Any pin head ever read a book?? That’s right, they are all too busy punching the buttons on their Iphones, blackberry’s.
We are lost.
Stazi