I’ve learned that TBS is finalizing a deal for a pilot order to Ground Floor, a multi-camera comedy written by Scrubs and Cougar Town creator Lawrence and former Friends and How I Met Your Mother executive producer Malins. Gail Mancuso has come on board to direct the pilot, to be produced by Warner Horizon Television and Lawrence’s Warner Bros.-based Doozer. The project was originally developed for broadcast last season and landed a pilot production commitment at CBS but did not get made. Set in the modern world of corporate America, Ground Floor centers on a 29-year-old successful alpha male who crosses paths with his company’s support staff, a tight-knit group of truly happy and care-free people. He quickly realizes he’s not nearly as happy as he thought he was.
I hear Lawrence and Malins may bring in an executive producer/showrunner as both are busy with broadcast pilots. Lawrence is executive producing two pilots through Doozer/Warner Bros. TV — Fox’s I Suck At Girls and NBC’s Undateable — while Malins is the writer/exec producer of the CBS/Sony TV comedy Jacked Up starring Patrick Warburton. Because of Malins’ Jacked Up duties, he will not be an exec producer on Ground Floor, which is exec produced by Lawrence and his executive Jeff Ingold. Ground Floor marks the first cable pilot for Doozer and expands Lawrence’s relationship with TBS, which also airs Cougar Town. The pickup of Ground Floor comes on the heels of TBS’ pilot order to a blue collar comedy from Walt Becker and Rob Long.
This is Mancuso’s second pilot gig this season — she also is helming the single-camera ABC comedy Keep Calm And Carry On, from writer Andrea Abbate, 20th TV and 21 Laps/Adelstein. She received an Emmy nomination in 2011 for Modern Family. Mancuso is repped by ICM Partners, which also reps Lawrence. Malins is with WME.
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