Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: A 2006 segment from Ira Glass’ This American Life radio program is being turned into a comedy series. Fox has bought a multi-camera comedy pitch based on the “Deal of a Lifetime” segment of the documentary program, with Horrible Bosses co-writer Jonathan Goldstein writing and Dan Lin producing. Titled The Man Upstairs, the comedy centers on a young woman who buys a house that is advertised as a “deal of a lifetime,” but there’s one catch: the house comes along with the elderly man who owns it. The project will be produced by Warner Bros TV and Lin’s studio-based production company. Last month, Lin launched a TV division of his Lin Pictures, tapped Jennifer Gwartz to run it and signed an overall deal with Warner Bros TV. Goldstein, Lin and Gwartz will executive produce The Man Upstairs, with Glass and This American Life producer Alissa Shipp, who brought the idea to Lin, serving as executive consultants. The project reunites Lin and Glass, who worked together on Warner Bros Pictures’ 2006 feature Unaccompanied Minors, which was based on another This American Life story; Lin oversaw the film as SVP Production at the studio. In addition to co-writing Horrible Bosses, which has grossed more than $200 million worldwide, Goldstein has worked on a slew of comedy series, most recently $#*! My Dad Says. In “Deal of a Lifetime,” TAL producer Sarah Koenig tells the story of how her stepsister Rue bought a house on the cheap, with the understanding that the previous owner would soon move out. But that never happened, and more than 10 years later, she’s still waiting. You can listen to the segment here or read the transcript here (scroll down to Act Three).

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