ABC Family is readying its next wave of comedies featuring familiar faces both behind and in front of the camera.
Following the back-orders for Twisted and The Fosters, the youth-skewing cable network has ordered three half-hour projects to pilot, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
First, Mystery Girls stars Tori Spelling as a former starlet who is roped into solving crimes with her mystery TV show co-star when a witness to a crime will only speak to the infamous Mystery Girls. Spelling and Maggie Malina (Single Ladies) will executive produce the drama, which was written by Shepard Boucher (Men at Work) from a story from Boucher and Spelling. The project comes four months after THR exclusively reported the former Beverly Hills, 90210 actress was readying the project following her co-starring role in the network's Christmas movie The Mistle-Tones. The project marks Spelling's latest foray into TV after served as host and executive producer on TLC's Craft Wars.
Second, Work Mom is described as a workplace comedy that follows Heather, who finally gets promoted at her digital marketing firm and winds up hiring her recently unemployed mother, Eden. The pilot is penned by from Bunheads alums Grant Levy and Dominik Rothbard and comes a month after ABC Family canceled the critically adored hourlong ballet drama after one season.
Third, Young & Hungry hails from executive producers Ashley Tisdale, Jessica Rhoades and Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men). The CBS Television Studios entry revolves around Nick, a well-off young tech entrepreneur, hires Gabi, a feisty young blogger, to be his personal chef. David Holden (Accidentally on Purpose) penned the pilot.
"We have seen great success with our comedy series and look to grow our comedy offerings. These pilots offer a great mix of humor and iconic characters,” said Kate Juergens, exec vp original programming and development and chief creative officer at ABC Family.
STORY: Tori Spelling Developing Comedy for ABC Family (Exclusive)
The trio of pilots come as ABC Family has already locked down its newest offerings, family comedy The Fosters and thriller Twisted for additional episodes. Should any of the projects move to series, they would join a roster of original series that includes recently renewed Baby Daddy, Switched at Birth and Melissa & Joey. New entry Chasing Life (formerly known as Terminales) will premiere in early 2014.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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