FX hopes Billy Crystal will still look mah-velous in comedy pilot
2013: When Billy met FX?
The cable network announced Wednesday it has ordered the comedy pilot “The Comedians,” starring longtime actor / comedian Billy Crystal.
The half-hour single camera comedy, which will be produced by Fox Television Studios, will feature Crystal as an established veteran comedian paired with a younger, edgier comedian for a late-night sketch show. Youngsters: It’s like “Conan” meets “Nashville.” Eh, not really.
The comedy is based on a Swedish format of the same name. The network, which has established itself in the drama arena, has been steadily building its clout in the comedy game, most notably with critics and awards darling “Louie.” The announcement also comes as FX prepares to launch FXX in the fall, a cable network largely focused on comedy bent toward the younger set.
Longtime “Seinfeld” writer-producer and “Borat” director Larry Charles will helm the pilot. He also serves as a writer and executive producer, along with Matt Nix (“Burn Notice”), Ben Wexler (“Community”) and Crystal.
“It truly is an honor to be in business with Billy Crystal and Larry Charles, two of the all-time greats in comedy,” the network’s president and general manager, John Landgraf, said in a statement. “We have also wanted for some time to be in business with Matt Nix, who has done such an amazing job creating and running ‘Burn Notice.’ They, along with Ben Wexler, are an unbeatable team and we’re incredibly excited about this project.”
Production on the pilot is set to begin this summer.
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