Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Fox is eyeing a new light legal drama franchise with Lawyers For Less. The network is developing the project, created by and to star Danny Comden and produced by Sony TV and studio-based Happy Madison. Sony-based Anthony and Joe Russo are on board to direct and produce. The Russos, Emmy winners for directing the Arrested Development pilot, are hot coming off the last development season when both of their pilots, Happy Endings and Running Wilde, got picked up to series. They executive produce 3 series this season, Happy Ending, Running Wilde and Community, whose pilot they also directed.

Lawyers For Less, which Comden will write and executive produce with Josh Pate, is a workplace comedic drama about two best friends – a white-shoe lawyer (Comden) coming back from disbarment for mixing business and pleasure and an enterprising black lawyer who takes him in as partner – who run a small storefront law firm specializing in ambulance chasing and defending the defenseless. ”Their goal is to bring reasonable doubt at a reasonable price while making as much filthy lucre as humanly possible,” Comden said. The project extends Comden’s relationship with Fox. Last year, he landed a script commitment with penalty from the network for single-camera comedy The Intruders, which didn’t go to pilot.

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