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CBS brass had sports on their minds today, with pilot orders to two sports-themed multicamera comedies – an untitled sitcom inspired by ESPN personality Colin Cowherd’s outspoken sports talk show, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and Home Game, a family show about a retired NFL player inspired by former NFL star Mark Schlereth and his family and executive produced by Mark Wahlberg.
The untitled sports radio show was written by comedy veterans Bill Martin and Mike Schiff (Grounded for Life) who are executive producing, with Cowherd serving as producer. Also executive producing are Eric and Kim Tannenbaum, whose company co-produces the project with CBS TV Studios. This marks Eric and Kim Tannenbaum’s first pilot order since they relaunched their Tannenbaum Co. banner last summer and set up shop at CBS TV Studios. They were previously partnered with Mitch Hurwitz at Sony Pictures TV for 3.5 years.
An interesting bit of trivia. In 2003, Cowherd was picked to replace another outspoken sports personality, Tony Kornheiser, for the late morning time slot on ESPN Radio. Like Cowherd, Kornheiser too was the inspiration for a CBS sitcom. The multicamera comedy 
Listen Up!, loosely based on Kornheiser life, starred Jason Alexander and had a short run during the 2004-05 season.
Home Game, from CBS TV Studios and Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson’s Leverage, is about a retired NFL player who returns home to his wife and daughters. Warren Bell and Chris Nowak wrote the script. Bell, Wahlberg and Levinson executive produce, with Nowak serving as a co-executive producer and Peter Sussman as producer. Also serving as producers are NFL player-turned-sportscaster Mark Schlereth, his wife Lisa and his daughter, actress Alexandria Schlereth. Mark Schlereth is one of only 35 players to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. This is the first broadcast and the first non-HBO pilot for Leverage, the company behind such HBO series as Entourage, In Treatment, Boardwalk Empire and How to Make It In America.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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So, they’re hoping the second time’s the charm, huh? Remember Listen Up, inspired by Tony Kornheiser’s books and his radio and TV gigs, most notably Around the Horn?
The only thing Cornheiser inspires me to do is throw up.
Tony was never on ATH, he is on Pardon the Interruption. I think Listen Up failed not so much because of tony, but the chemistry with the actors didn’t seem to work well.
Great concept. Cowherd is one of the best sports talk radio host out there, and a character based on his personality could definitely make for an entertaining watch.
Cowherd is the biggest windbag in sports radio. What a douche!
I like “Listen Up!” – But I LOVE Around the Horn. Michael Wilbon as played by Malcom-Jamal Warner. Awesome! It was the only Seinfeld alumni shows I’ve liked so far.
The show that Wilbon & Kornheiser host is called Pardon The Interruption. Around the Horn is hosted by Tony Reali.
Oh shoot, you’re right – - I watch those shows back to back almost daily. But I do LOVE Around the Horn more… its more 20 something oriented even though Woody and Plaschke are a bit old school. I watch PTI because I respect their opinions more than some of the peeps on ATH.
Thanks for the correction. WHOOOPS!!!
it’s Daddio meets In Treatment!
gross.
Ah, CBS pushing the envelope once again by hiring more white middle-aged writers writing about white characters.
Quit making everything racial. IT’S NOT. If you know or read anything by or about either of these guys you would understand that.
Why not do a show about the second most annoying individual person on radio? I guess Limbaugh said no?
Way to go CBS. Colin Cowherd really needed this to boost his inexplicable ego.
In case you haven’t figured it out, I’ll be passing on this one
I find Jim Rome to be MUCH more annoying than Cowherd. And even more so, the local Dallas ESPN Radio station’s Randy Galloway kills me… ACK.
I do think Mike and Mike are great…
It’s not Around The Horn, come on people, it’s PTI, Pardon The Interruption.
….and Kornheiser and Wilbon are the best!!! Highest rated show on ESPN.
Sounds like Gary Unmarried, which just got axed on CBS. Hmm.
Ugh. Cowherd is the worst.
To commenter Elia: seriously, is it a crime for a middle aged white producer to land a pilot? Should they not be allowed to participate in the entertainment industry? Just today there was an article on Deadline about ABC picking up two (very deserving) pilots from female producers. Can’t everyone play?
Do you know how many middle-aged white men have shows on? How many studios and networks pay the same middle-aged white men to do the same damn shows that a majority of the time fail? Yes, middle-aged white men should be allowed to participate, but so should diversity writers/creators as well, don’t you think? If middle-aged white men can put on mediocre shows like THE CAPE and HARRY’S LAW, then diversity writers/creators should have the same chance to put on mediocre shows. But THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN!!! Just check out the last few articles about pilots being sold, how many are from middle-aged white males? How many are from diversity writers? Diversity writers DO NOT get the same opportunities! Yes, the female writers who sold their pilots to ABC got a big cheer from me. Read it! You asked, “Can’t everyone play?” THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I’VE BEEN POSTING ABOUT!!! EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY!!!
Shorter: “CBS didn’t like my concept, and it couldn’t possibly be because it sucked–it could only be because I’m a Womyn Of Color!”
Hilarious. If you want to know why your not getting an opportunity, its because you don’t know anybody. That doesn’t make not getting produced suck any more or less, but it does effect white men equally. If you are contending that you don’t have as much of an opportunity to forge relationships with those in positions to make a show, that could be related to racial difference, but is far less indicative of a racism than your insistence on seeing race as a central component in your not getting a show produced. I don’t know what a diversity writer is, I don’t tend to pay any attention to the color of someone’s skin when I decide whether or not I like their writing, and neither should anyone else.
Don’t do METH!!!
It takes great talent to be racist, agency and sexist in one comment like Ella just did. Maybe if she’s lucky one if those writers us gay and she can hate them for that too
Has there been a series featuring a sports radio or TV personality that made enough episodes for syndication?
And CBS can pretty much forget about the state of Ohio watching Cowherd’s show.
Little House on the Prairie with Merlin Olsen?
Merlin Olsen started doing NFL on NBC the same season he joined Little House. He only did 51 episodes so not enough for syndication if you just count Merlin’s involvement.
Eric and Kim are bottom feeders. Enough with these two. They were okay in the 90s and have been failures since. Cone on, look at their track record. Look at it I say.
Tiro te tu
I agree with Elia. You have the same BS by the same Bs making the same Bs. Look at Eric and Kim. Get them out of here.
Go Elia! Don’t let the lemmings beat you down. I’m a fan!!!
Schlereth’s a funny dude. Good luck buddy. wolverines baby, wolverines.
Has there been a series featuring a sports radio or TV personality that made enough episodes for syndication?
And CBS can pretty much forget about the state of Ohio watching Cowherd’s show.
Great concept. Cowherd is one of the best sports talk radio host out there, and a character based on his personality could definitely make for an entertaining watch.
Thank you for having the courage to speak truth to power, Elia. I don’t think Elia is being racist by pointing out that the same ole, same ole is being rehashed again — hence middle-aged white dudes creating a show that reflects middle-aged white dude-dom to the max.
Sure the sports show comedy concept has gotten beaten like a dead mule — um, didn’t Aaron Sorkin do Sports Night eons ago? — so a re-thread in an industry like ours that’s become a veritable creative lacuna isn’t gobsmackingly shocking. I guess what does surprise me is that a lot of folks are trying to pounce on the poor messenger here; Elia is just relaying the ugly, homogenous truth of our industry (paging young Marcus Washington, formerly of William Morris Endeavor!) in 2011. (Next thing you know Mark Wahlberg, a creative force behind this latest sports comedy for the boob tube, will do an “Invincible” meet “Rocky” cinema drama about a down on his luck, blue collar white boxer in Baaah-stin who ….
… Oh, that’s been done already you say?
Yeah, originality is pretty much too tall an order for Hollywood these days.
Come on kaisen wrong show, tony kornheiser does pti (pardon the interruption) not around the horn. If your gonna critisize atleast get your facts straight….. Douche.
Really! You people are rediculouse two new shows get announced and all you can see is that they are about white people racism definitely wont ever be gone until people like you stop reaching for it in everything you hear, read, or see. I wish petty people like yall would go away and let normal people move on with our lives.
Everyone listen to me because I PROMISE you I know more about sports than ANYONE reading Deadline: Colin Cowherd is a blowhard idiot who makes up facts and stats and takes ridiculous stances to piss people off.
Again, I am smarter when it comes to sports THAN ANY OF YOU. Cowherd sucks. He makes Jim Rome look like Ghandi.
Quite presumptuous to think you know more than anyone here about sports, but with that said, you are right about cowherd. A lot of times it comes across as he is going for a shock value opinion rather than an educated one, which makes me feel like he is insincere in what he says. I usually like Rome’s radio show, I just get tired of all the call in guests.
That’s the most ridiculous “logic” I have ever heard. Racism won’t be gone until “you people” stop pointing it out?
Um, right.
Because WE’RE the problem. I hate to break it to ya, but we are “normal people” just as much as you are. Even though we’re not white. Really. Being a white person who is not bothered by the overwhelming whiteness and upper-middle-class sensibilities rule TV does not make you “normal.”
Having said that, doesn’t the fact that Elia has been able to point out in almost every one of these posts that the projects are from middle-aged white men say something right there? It isn’t “two shows,” it’s just about every show.
In answer to another remark above, if “everyone was playing,” wouldn’t there be just a bit more gender and racial diversity? The problem isn’t that we don’t want middle-aged white men to play, it’s that almost the only ones playing. This is part of why television so damn boring nowadays — it only tells the stories of an increasingly smaller section of America.
Mark Wahlberg needs to stop producing these jockstrap films and TV shows. They stink.
Well,, the majority of the country is white and if you want to get ratings it really helps to have the white eye balls. And sadly, white people generally like to watch what they are familiar with, which is other white people. So it makessense to continually pick up sitcoms based on my white brothers.
“Sadly” is the word you use to describe the situation. So if it is so sad, then why roll over and take? At least on this anonymous post, can’t you just at least say that Elia and all the other voices fighting for equality are doing good. But I guess someone who also uses the phrase “my white brothers” doesn’t want to acknowledge the rest of the country, experience other members of the country’s population besides the usual trip to Taco Bell and Panda Express.