Nellie Andreeva

Playing with Guns has been picked up to pilot… again. The project, which shot a pilot for Spike TV last year but didn’t make the cut to series, has now been greenlighted by another Viacom network, Comedy Central. Back is star Danny Masterson and producers Varsity Pictures and Lionsgate TV as well as writers Bob Castrone, Brian Levin and Jason Zumwalt. But now, Masterson is joined by a new co-lead, My Name Is Earl‘s Ethan Suplee, who replaces Joey Kern.

Playing with Guns centers on two best friends (Masterson, Suplee) who had no idea what they wanted to be when they grew up, so they decided to sign up for a job that allows them to hang out together, run red lights, and best of all – play with guns. So they became cops, patrolling the suburban town they grew up in and trying to get the most out of their badges while doing the least amount of police work possible. Word is Comedy Central brass liked the premise of the show but wanted to do it its own, leading to a complete revamp complete with Castrone, Levin and  Zumwalt writing a brand new script. Filming on the pilot will start next week in Wilmington, NC where the original pilot for Spike was also shot. Varsity Pictures’ Brian Robbins is back as executive producer and director of the pilot and Sharla Sumpter-Bridgett as executive producer. Castrone, Levin and  Zumwalt will co-executive produce, with Masterson producing. Central Prods. has come on board to co-produce the project with Varsity and Lionsgate. For Suplee, repped by Don Buchwald & Assoc. and Management 360, this marks the first regular series gig since Earl. Brian Robbins, Masterson and the writers are repped by UTA.

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