Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: John Goodman is set to star in Alpha House, one of Amazon Studios’ first six original comedy pilots. Written by Oscar nominee and Pulitzer-Prize winner Garry Trudeau (Doonesbury), Alpha House follows four senators who live together in a rented house in Washington DC. Goodman will play North Carolina Senator Gil John Biggs, a large man with large appetites. His cranky sense of entitlement comes from years of being revered as a successful basketball coach, but when the Duke basketball coach decides to run against him, he finds his Senate seat in jeopardy. Amazon has been going for a mix of big TV names and up-and-coming young talent for its comedy pilots. Frasier and Cheers alumna Bebe Neuwirth was recently cast in Browsers. Since a story about Democratic politicians Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, George Miller and Bill Delahunt sharing a rented house gained popularity several years ago, there have been several attempts to use the setup for a TV show. In 2010, ABC ordered a pilot for Greg Malins’ comedy Freshmen, executive produced by Arianna Huffington, which revolved around three newly-elected members of Congress who share a house together.

Related: Amazon Studios Greenlights Five Children’s Pilots

Goodman won a SAG Award on Sunday as member of the best feature film ensemble winner Argo and, with the movie gaining momentum, he has a good shot at co-starring in two back-to-back Best Picture Oscar winners (He was also in The Artist.) Gersh-repped Goodman will next be seen in Hangover III and Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis and is about to start filming George Clooney’s The Monuments Men.

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