The Jim Gaffigan Show

The Jim Gaffigan Show is an upcoming American comedy television series on the TV Land network, created by comedian Jim Gaffigan and producer Peter Tolan. Gaffigan will star as a fictionalized version of himself as a stand-up comedian raising five children in a two-bedroom New York City apartment.[1][2] An 11-episode first season will debut in the summer of 2015.[1]

Cast

Comedians Chris Rock, Dave Attell and Hannibal Buress will make guest appearances as fictional versions of themselves.[2]

Production

Crew

Comedian Jim Gaffigan wrote, executive produced and will star in the semi-autobiographical series.

Jeff Lowell will be the showrunner for The Jim Gaffigan Show, and will serve as executive producer along with Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan, Jim's real-life wife, a fictional version of whom will also appear in the show. Tolan will serve as a consultant on the series and executive produced the pilot, which was directed by Seth Gordon. Brillstein Entertainment Partners' Alex Murray and Sandy Wernick will also be executive producers.[1][3] Comedy Central, a cable network owned by TV Land parent company Viacom, will air episodes of the series one week after they debut.[3]

Development

CBS previously tried twice to develop Jim Gaffigan's semi-autobiographical series. The network ordered a pilot episode in January 2013, at which time Mira Sorvino was attached to play Gaffigan's wife, with Christian Barillas and Tongayi Chirisa in supporting roles. CBS passed on the series in May 2013 and instead planned to redevelop it for the 2014-15 television season. The series was recast with new cast members Williams, Goldberg and Black. CBS passed on the series in May 2014, and Sony Pictures Television began shopping it to other networks. It was announced in July 2014 that TV Land had ordered the series. Jim Gaffigan said of the announcement: "I am thrilled that TV Land is giving us this opportunity to do this show that Peter, Jeannie and I have been fine-tuning for three years."[3] TV Land president Larry W. Jones said the series was perfect for its target audience of Generation Xers who are raising families. Jones said: "We love Jim Gaffigan's brand of humor. The second we saw this show we knew we wanted it on TV Land."[3]

Writing

The series is partially based on the real lives of Jim and Jeannie Gaffigan, who have five children and live in a two-bedroom apartment in New York City.[3] The age differences of the children were shortened in the television show, and Jeannie said "The TV kids are sort of a snapshot of an earlier time in our lives when they were all younger".[2] Other regular topics of Jim Gaffigan's stand-up comedy will be part of the series, particularly his love of food. Jeannie said the list of props for the show is "almost 90 percent food ... which I thought was pretty funny".[2] Although Gaffigan will play a comedian, a conscious decision was made not to intersperse the show with his stand-up comedy, like in such popular shows as Seinfeld and Louie. He said of this decision: "I want this to be more about what happens off the stage. ... 'Stand-up comedian' is an occupation and, like our pilot, we're evolving into a much more mature show."[2] Jim Gaffigan and Peter Tolan wrote the pilot together.[3]

Filming

Production on the single-camera series began in 2015. Filming occurred at such New York City locations as Katz's Delicatessen and the Gotham Comedy Club.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "TV Land's "The Jim Gaffigan Show" Begins Production in New York". The Futon Critic. March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 McGlynn, Katla (March 30, 2015). "Jim Gaffigan's New TV Show Is Like 'Sex And The City' Starring A Comedian With Five Kids". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Goldberg, Lesley (July 29, 2014). "CBS' Jim Gaffigan Comedy Moves to TV Land With Series Order". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 30, 2015.