Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: In what would be his first major series gig, The Book Of Mormon star Andrew Rannells has been signed in a joint 20th Century Fox TV-NBC talent holding deal with the intention for him to play one of the 3 leads in the NBC/20th TV comedy from the Glee duo of Ryan Murphy and Allison Adler. The single-camera project, co-written by Murphy and Adler and to be directed by Murphy, is described as a heartwarming comedy about a blended family of a gay couple and the woman who becomes a surrogate to help them start a family. It has not been greenlighted to pilot yet but is fully expected to. NBC landed the pitch in a three-way bidding war with penalty said to be bigger than any other commitment for a comedy project this season. Just as Murphy and Adler were setting out to write the script, NBC moved on to hire a casting director to explore options for the 3 leads. Murphy and Adler are executive producing the project with Ryan Murphy Prods.’ Dante Di Loreto.

Rannells, whose Broadway resume includes stints in Hairspray and Jersey Boys, shot to fame last year when he was cast, along with Josh Gad, as one of the the 2 leads of the hugely successful musical The Book Of Mormon. Both Rannells and Gad earned Tony nominations for their performances in the Tony-winning musical. Off the stage, Rannell’s is an accomplished voice-over artist. His first on-screen role is a guest stint on the upcoming HBO comedy series Girls.

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