The cast and creators of ABC's freshman comedy Mixology previewed the high-concept bar comedy Friday to close out the network's day at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour.
The single-camera comedy comes from Hangover writers Jon Lucas and Scott Moore and marks the duo's first foray into television. The series also serves as the first scripted entry from Ryan Seacrest Productions.
Mixology is set in the world of a sexy Manhattan bar chronicling the exploits of singles in search of love -- all over the course of one night. Each episode will focus on different characters in the large ensemble cast and include flashbacks to help illustrate how they became the person they are today.
"We compare ourselves to Lost but in our minds this is like Lost in a bar. We have the story going on in real time then flashback to learn more about these characters," Lucas said, joking that "everyone on our show is dead" in a nod to the Damon Lindelof-Carlton Cuse ABC drama.
Moore said the duo wrote the script on spec and thought how to tell a story where people meet and fall in love in a different way. "We didn't think of the structure of TV and rules," he said, noting the format of the series "broke a lot of rules" with its 10 leads and one-night setting. "It's a romantic comedy every week and that hasn't been done."
As for the stakes in the series, producers hope viewers begin rooting for certain pairings -- and in some cases, not happen. "A lot of this world and the dating world is about who you're going to hook up with, but at the end of day it's about how you're going to find special person you'll wind up with for the rest of your life. That's the real stakes of the show; it's people trying to find that right person," Moore said.
Mixology premieres Feb. 26 at 9:30 p.m. on ABC.
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