Nellie Andreeva
EXCLUSIVE: American Dad executive producer Nahnatchka Khan is emerging as the comedy star of this buying season with a second half-hour project that sparked heated bidding. A month after Fox won the bidding war for her single-camera family comedy Connected, ABC just landed Khan’s relationship comedy Dealbreaker in a similarly competitive situation. Both projects are produced by 20th TV where Khan is under an overall deal. Khan will co-write Dealbreaker, which landed a premium script commitment with penalty from ABC, with American Dad writer Laura McCreary. It is based on the blog by comics Dave Horwitz and Marisa Pinson and their recent book of the same name. The blog and the book are described as a “hilarious reference guide to the qualities that, when discovered, transform the ‘date you hope to go home with’ into the ‘date you pray never calls again’” and as a catalogue of characteristics that serve as early warning signs of possible relationship discontent. Ted Field and Mike Weber of Radar Pictures, which had optioned the rights to the book, will serve as executive producers on the TV project. Dealbreaker is not related in any way to Dealbreakers, the fake dating-advice talk show on NBC’s 30 Rock that was built around Liz Lemon’s catchphrase, “That’s a dealbreaker, ladies.” It is the latest in a string of comedy projects based on blogs/books/Twitter accounts picked up by the networks in light of the successful launch of CBS’ Twitter feed-based comedy series $#*! My Dad Says. CBS is developing 2 more Twitter feed-based comedies for next season, Dear Girls Above Me and Shh … Don’t Tell Steve, while ABC is working on a series based on the Awkward family Photos blog/book. Showtime is developing Boycrazy, a half-hour comedy based on Alexi Wasser’s provocative blog ImBoyCrazy.com, while ABC is developing a comedic drama project based on the blog and the book The Lost Girls. Khan and McCreary are with WME.

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