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The project was picked up to series in April by the pay cabler.
HBO is pulling the plug on its upcoming Lorne Michaels project.
The pay cabler is no longer moving forward with the comedy series Brothers in Atlanta, which was exec produced by the SNL veteran, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Brothers in Atlanta hailed from Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin, who were set to write, executive produce and star in the show. The series centered on struggling entertainers and best friends trying to navigate life in the black Mecca of Atlanta.
“After assessing our programming needs we talked to Bashir and Diallo and decided moving forward didn’t make sense for us at the time," HBO said in a statement. "We feel they are immensely talented and we hope to work with them in the future.”
Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph and Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid) were also slated to appear in the comedy, which was picked up to series in April.
Andrew Singer of Michaels' Broadway Video was attached to exec produce, along with Michaels and director Tim Story (Ride Along), who helmed the pilot.
Brothers in Atlanta was part of HBO's aggressive push to bolster its comedy slate. The same month Brothers in Atlanta was picked up to series, the pay cabler also ordered new episodes of the pot comedy High Maintenance and the Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle Divorce.
HBO has a roster of awards-season darlings that includes Silicon Valley, Girls, Veep, Togetherness and Ballers as well as upcoming half-hour Vice Principals, animated comedy Animals, the Issa Rae series Insecure and the recently announced Judd Apatow comedy Crashing starring Pete Holmes. The network is also getting ready to say farewell to Girls next year after its upcoming sixth season (season five premieres this spring).
HBO made a similar change of course in October when it decided to not to bring back the political comedy The Brink after having greenlit a second season three months earlier.
For Michaels, Brothers in Atlanta marked a rare step away from NBC, where he exec produces Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers. Michaels is also an exec producer on the FXX sophomore comedy Man Seeking Woman.
HBO
