Shondaland is off to a hot start this development season.
Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers' production company has made its third sale for the 2014-15 development season, setting up a comedy from Cougar Town co-executive producers Christine Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein at ABC.
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The untitled entry revolves around a group of friends who are brought together after an unexpected turn of events. Pietrosh and Goldstein (My Name Is Earl) will write and executive produce the comedy. Rhimes and her Shondaland partner Beers are on board to executive produce.
This marks the banner's third sale (and first comedy) this development season under Rhimes' overall deal with ABC Studios. Rhimes and Beers are also teaming with Made in Jersey creator Dana Calvo for a cop drama and K.J. Steinberg (Gilded Lilys) for Lawless, a drama about a maverick attorney inspired by the life of victims' rights lawyer Wynona Ward, founder of Have Justice Will Travel.
The Pietrosh/Goldstein entry marks Shondaland's second attempt at a comedy, which remains a priority at the company behind dramas Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and the recently concluded Private Practice. Last year, Rhimes and Beers teamed with writer Issa Rae for a comedy called I Hate L.A. Dudes, which did not move forward at the network.
In addition to the upcoming 10th season of Grey's and third year of Scandal, Rhimes (with Beers and Grey's producer Mark Gordon) is also going back to the big screen, penning feature film War Correspondents at Sony's Columbia Pictures.
Pietrosh and Goldstein are repped by ICM Partners and Ken Richman; Rhimes is with ICM Partners and attorney Brooke Warburton.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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