Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: CBS has solidified the midseason chances of the untitled Rob Schneider comedy pilot with an order for a new pilot as well as a number of additional scripts. The multi-camera comedy, which Schneider co-wrote with Lew Morton based on the actor’s real-life experience, stars Schneider as a confirmed bachelor who has just married into a tight-knit Mexican-American family. I hear CBS liked the concept and Schneider, who tested very well, but wants to make some tweaks. Several actors who played members of the family, Schneider’s on-screen wife and her parents, will be recast. By ordering backup scripts, CBS puts the project on track for midseason. If the network likes the new pilot, the comedy will be able to go into production right away for a midseason launch. Back in May, CBS didn’t order any midseason comedy series, leaving that decision for after the upfronts. The Rob Schneider project, from CBS TV Studios and the Tannenbaum Co., was one of two pilots left in contention, along with the Sony TV-produced Peter Knight half-hour.

CBS has a history of ordering second pilots and recasting projects that its executives like but feel their original pilots are not quite there. The practice worked out well for The Big Bang Theory and Numbers, which went on to have successful runs on the network.

TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.