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EXCLUSIVE: In one of the most heated bidding wars for a comedy project this season, a new half-hour by The New Adventures of Old Christine creator Kari Lizer just landed at NBC with a big production commitment. All 4 major broadcast networks were after the show, a workplace comedy about a woman helping people transition between jobs. In the end, it went to the network most closely associated with workplace comedy, NBC, and the network where Lizer honed her skills as a comedy writer on Will & Grace for 4 years before segueing to developing. Lizer’s new project is produced by Warner Bros. TV where Lizer is under a multi-year overall deal and Lizer’s Kari’s Logo Here production banner. The last time Lizer developed was during the 2004-05 season when she sold two comedies through WBTV, Christine to CBS and True to the WB. Both got picked up to pilot and Christine went on to become a series, which wrapped its 5-year run on CBS in May and earned star Julia Louis-Dreyfus a best comedy actress Emmy in 2005. BTW, like Vision Art-repped Lizer, I hear Louis-Dreyfus also is a hot commodity this development season, with a slew of writers reaching out to her with show ideas. She is yet to commit to a new series project, so how about a Lizer/Luois-Dreyfus reunion on NBC?
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Kari is one of the sweetest and most talented creators out there. Good for her!
i couldn’t agree with you more!
If I were Kari, I wouldn’t bring Julia along for this ride. Old Christine was a great show- well written, well acted – but for some reason no one gave a shit about it. Julia should focus on movies – I think her days of bringing an audience to a sitcom are long gone.
Good luck Kari.
I agree. Still consider it one of the most underrated sitcoms. I wish ABC had saved it ..oh well, time to move on and they def. should team up again.. Need more Julia Louis-Dreyfus on TV…esp. after the 30 rock live ep
Kind of surprised that with the choice of all 4 nets they would go with NBC. The content fit makes sense, but NBC has such a hard time getting people to sample their shows. It’s hard to see how they pull out of 4th place in the next few years and some of their shows are fighting tooth and nail with the CW.
This makes no sense on two levels. Why was there a bidding war? Nobody watched Old Christine.
And why would the creator opt to go with NBC? As another poster said, NBC can’t get people to sample its new shows.
For me, personally, I refuse to watch any NBC show until everyone involved in the underhanded Leno-Zucker-Conan fiasco is gone. You’d be surprised how many others out there are similarly avoiding the network for the same reason.
Because her agent Scott Schwartz is a genius?
Ren, what makes no sense to me is how someone could be so wrong and have the lack sense to post a comment like yours. Old Christine was a smart, funny and relatable show. It may not have gotten as many views as it rightly deserved, but what show could with as little promotion as it got from CBS? As for the choice of network the article tells you why she singed with them, because NBC is”most closely associated with work place comedy”.
I loved Old Christine and i look foreword to seeing your new show,
Good Luck Ms. Lizer,
You’re an idiot. Signed with NBC because it’s known “as the place for workplace comedy?”
I watched “Old Christine” and found it funny. Obviously, not enough of us did…but to say no one watched a show that had been on for four seasons is a bit of hyperbole.
Very strange all around. A bidding war for the creator of a show that nobody watched, who chooses to go with a network nobody watches. The real question though, is it multi-cam or single?
Yes, but it got on the air and she kept it on for four seasons. In this TV landscape as long as you’re on the air, you’re considered successful.
Funny post “…A bidding war for the creator of a series that nobody watched, who chooses to go with a network nobody watches” – very “Seinfeld” like. Kari is a very good writer/creator, and Scott Schwartz, love him or hate him – and most people hate him, is good at what he does. Art
I’m sure it’s single. No one would do multi at nbc.
Hey, Ren and Josh, you know what other show no one watched? “Back to You.” Created by Steve Levitan and Chris Lloyd, the guys who created Modern Family. Or “Frannie’s Turn”, created by Chuck Lorre who has churned out nothing buts hits since. Or a hundred other examples. By the way, Christine ran for five seasons. It wasn’t a bomb. It sold into syndication.
Hey Doug,
If Modern Family or pretty much all of Chuck Lorre’s hits were on NBC in 2010-2011 viewers wouldn’t give them a chance. And viewers won’t give this a chance. Odds of success are close to zero.
Yeah, for about $12.00 Christine will be lucky to break even for the studio
You’re right, it definitely wasn’t a bomb. It just wasn’t any good.
Old Christine did reasonably well when it first came on the air. Even in its last days, it got around 6 million people. I know that’s tiny in the ratings game, but it’s still a lot more than nobody. Then there’s the fact CBS never promoted that show, at least in later seasons. If NBC actually gives this one attention, it could do quite well. I think the bidding is probably based on the critical praise Kari recieved through Old Christine. A show’s success is part it’s quality, part how much a network talks it up, and part pure luck.
As for JLD, as much as I love her, I don’t know that she should go straight back to doing sitcoms. What I’d really like is to see some of Old Christine’s secondary actors getting roles in this. Julia deserved all the attention she got, but all the talent on the show was great, and I’d love to see some of the “lesser knowns” get recognized.
At some Point.. We all remember NBC to be Network worthy of ‘stuff we wanted on air’. Good
OMG! A workplace comedy. How original. PASS!
Funny post “…A bidding war for the creator of a series that nobody watched, who chooses to go with a network nobody watches” – very “Seinfeld” like.
No, very Zappa-like: “Rock journalism is people who can’t write, talking to people who can’t speak, for people who can’t read”. Zappa’s wit got there first.
Doesn’t this set up sound very similar to the story on deadline about the job whisperer? Hmmmm.
to all the naysayers..jeez..isn’t it a bit premature to be writing this off, before it’s even written? She’s a talented writer, this is a writer-driven business, so it’s no surprise there was interest from multiple nets..as for Old Christine, I felt it was inconsistent.. certainly not great, but it had it’s moments, especially with the inimitable Wanda Sykes..and the two women/moms who played JLD’s adversaries at the school.. JLD,given the right vehicle, could certainly have another hit…she’s funny.
Kari is the best. How many comedy writers have only produced quality shows for over a decade (Old Christine, W&G)?
I’ve read her other pilots that haven’t gotten made, and they’re always funny. She’s a class act, and networks are smart to take a shot with her.
But there has to be a better picture than that. She’s much prettier in person…
Sure to be another generic, otherwise bland show like Old Christine. People who actually write good, edgy, different shows don’t bother with the networks.
old christine was boooring
Scott Schwartz is really good at what he does. And despite the comments above, I don’t know anyone who “hates” him. He’s just a very aggressive agent. Isn’t that what you want as a writer?
Old Christine was on for 5 years! A show is not on for that many seasons if “nobody watched it!”
Plus Old Christine was probably one of THE funniest shows on TV ever. Its actually one of the few shows that LITERALLY made you “laugh out loud” every episode!
I wish Kari and Julia the best. They were great together…