Comedy Central is taking another swing at animation.
The Viacom-owned cable network has ordered Moonbeam City to pilot. The animated effort, billed as an absurdist take on neon-soaked 1980s crime dramas, centers on Dazzle Novak, a handsome yet moronic undercover detective who does everything in his power to avoid solving crimes.
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Scott Gairdner (Conan, Funny or Die Presents) will write and executive produce the project alongside Olive Bridge's Will Gluck and Richard Schwartz. For the latter, the news follows a particularly strong broadcast development season in which the Sony Pictures TV-based shingle's Michael J. Fox comedy was ordered straight to series at NBC and pilot The McCarthys is currently in contention at CBS. If ultimately ordered to series, Moonbeam City would mark Olive Bridge's first foray into cable.
The Moonbeam pilot order comes as Comedy Central continues to bulk up its slate of originals in its bid to compete in an increasingly fractured landscape. In recent months, the network has added series from Anthony Jeselnik, Nick Kroll, Amy Schumer and Nathan Fielder, among others, to its roster. On the animation side, the net added the Daniel Tosh-produced Brickleberry to its schedule in late 2012; it since has been renewed for a second season.
Gairdner is repped by UTA, Principato-Young and Ginsburg Daniels; Olive Bridge is repped by UTA.
Email: Lacey.Rose@THR.com; Twitter: @LaceyVRose
