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ABC has given the green light to comedy pilot Suburgatory, from writer/executive producer Emily Kapnek and Warner Bros. TV. The single-camera project is described as a satirical look at life in the suburbs and centers on a quintessentially New York City girl who moves to a cookie-cutter community only to discover that life in the ‘burbs is more frightening than any horror movie that she’s ever seen. From the network: “tonally, this is a heightened view of suburbia with a cinematic quality that evokes the scope and horror of perfection.”
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ABC’s development slate so far: F
“a satirical look at life in the suburbs”?
Isn’t this the tagline for half the shows on TV?
Great title.
Quoting: “a quintessentially New York City girl who moves to a cookie-cutter community only to discover that life in the ‘burbs is more frightening than any horror movie that she’s ever seen.’”
How ironic; the Normal-American Community would rather live in their cars than live in New York. So why doesn’t she stay there and cut down on polluting the suburbs?
Everyone’s happier that way.
Hollywood loves to take city folk and put them in a “fish out of water” scenario in the heartland and guess what – they’re lives are ALWAYS improved by the move. The city slicker is always proved to be the one who is living their life wrong and they learn all sorts of folksy lessons along the way. That’s such a Hollywood trope it verges on cliché. If anything, one could posit that Hollywood hates city folk.
This project, however, sounds much more arch and possibly intentionally creepy than the “Sweet Home Alabama’s” and “New In Towns” of the world, but still.
The Clintidote is correct. Typical, tired Hollywood attitude: “Can you imagine anything WORSE than living in the suburbs?” Hilarious.
you’ve obviously never spent any time in the valley
Oh give it a rest, culture warrior. The US is a country not a contest.
There have been a few kind of similar shows:
Green Acres
Desperate Housewives
Thirtysomething
I’m sure there are others.
Have you even seen Green Acres or Thirtysomething? Green Acres was about a rich lawyer who wanted to be a farmer. He wasn’t in the suburbs and he wanted to live there. Thirtysomething was a show about ad execs that already lived in the burbs. About their lives and loves and the difficulties of growing into adulthood.
I’ll give you Desperate Housewives but geesh, know what you’re talking about before you post.
Wow. Good for her. But I have to wonder, does no one have a fresher take on suburbia? Seriously, with the supposed talent pool in LA, can no one write a different spin on dysfunction in the suburbs…?
The answer is yes, many can write it (and have), it’s that no network will buy it unless it can appeal to most. So the fresher the take, the more likely it is not to ever see the light of day (on network TV at least).
It’s about as satirical as “Cougar Town.” I’ve read most of these scripts and the execution is pedestrian at best.
The title is fun, but I always wonder with this kind of thing where are they ever going to get 100 episodes from. Its like Cougartown where they abandoned the premise by the third episode.
ABC has given the green light to a lot of pilots. Whatever happened to the Tim Allen one? Is must be dead if it hasn’t been announced by now.
That’s four comedy pilots so far:
Man-Up (working title)
Smothered
Don’t Trust The Bitch (working title)
Suburgatory
I’m still trying to figure out how Paul Lee is differentiating himself from McPherson, because his team lead by Kim-Falvey on the comedy side are pretty much doing the same wack shit as the previous regime. I know they have to have something that would be different and interesting.
The same “wack shit” (sic) as the previous regime? You mean the regime that yielded MODERN FAMILY? What would you have assumed if you had seen the press crafted logline of that show before seeing the actual pilot? Why don’t you give shows a chance instead of criticizing.
Kapnek is a genius. The pilot is amazing as is everything else this woman has written. Good for ABC and Warner Bros!
Well done, Emily.
Amateurish writer, thin concept. Odd choice for the forward thinking ABC.
What are you talking about Amatuerish writer? She has had four pilots she has written shot and one of them go to series. She consults on Parks & Rec which is critically acclaimed and worked on Hung. Most writers never have a pilot shot. Confused how that is amateurish.
Guess people aren’t responding to your new Big Bang Theory spec huh?
I don’t know if this highlights ABC’s stupidity or penchant for wild theft more clearly — this is a terrible play on an excellent script that went out last season with Josh Friedman attached to showrun called “The Purgs.” Way to go, ABC.
You are deciding this based on a logline or after having read both of these scripts? Find it hard that a comedy half hour would be the same as that script? I think people are taking the “horror” line too literally here.
Pissed off because it is such a rip off of “The Purgs” which ABC read last year. At least be decent and change the title!!!!
From the writer who brought you Emily’s Reasons Why Not! And as far as the brilliant ABC comedy team who developed Modern Family — even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Did you see her pilots starring donal logue at nbc a few years back or her pilot at fox called Ernesto? Very different from Emilys Reasons….and if the parks & rec writers and greg daniels see something there – i’m sure there is promise. And slamming Modern Family? Are you an assistant at the CW or NBC? I think your clock might be stopped period.