Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Home Game has won the Rob Riggle sweepstakes. Riggle is set to star in the CBS multicamera comedy, from Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson’s Leverage. The project, loosely based on the experiences of former NFL star Mark Schlereth, centers on Mark (Riggle), a retired NFL player who returns home to his wife Lisa (Constance Zimmer) and daughters.

Finding a starring vehicle for the former Daily Show correspondent has been a big priority for CBS, which in the fall inked a third consecutive talent deal with him. Riggle was initially attached to a comedy from Saturday Night veteran Robert Smigel. When that project didn’t go to pilot, the network sent him 3 other scripts, including Home Game. With his background as a Marine where he was often deployed and his current profession as an actor where he goes away for filming and touring, Riggle immediately connected with the character in Home Game who is back with his family after years of playing with the pros. Also key for Riggle’s decision to go with Home Game was his relationship with Wahlberg. The two had worked together in the movie The Other Guys and Wahlberg reached out to Riggle who had been the producers’ first and only choice for the role.

Home Game, from CBS TV Studios, was written by Warren Bell and Chris Nowak. Bell, Wahlberg and Levinson executive produce along with Riggle’s managers Peter Principato and Paul Young, with Nowak serving as a co-executive producer and Riggle and Leverage’s Peter Sussman as producers. Also serving as producers are NFL player-turned-sportscaster Schlereth, his wife Lisa and his daughter, actress Alexandria Schlereth.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.