TV NEWS JUNE 20

http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2013/06/fx-acquires-kelsey-grammermartin.html

FX has closed a 10/90 deal (10 episode test run, if it does well the back-90 episodes get picked-up) with Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate's Debmar-Mercury for the new untitled sitcom starring comedy legends Martin Lawrence and Kelsey Grammer. Prolific comedy veterans Bob Boyett and Robert Horn, whose half-hour credits collectively include Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, Full House, Living Single and Designing Women, will executive produce and write the Lionsgate Television-produced show. Executive producers also include Kelsey Grammer, Martin Lawrence, Brian Sher, Stella Bulochnikov, Michael Green and Sam Maydew. The new sitcom marks the much-anticipated return to television of both Lawrence and Grammer, who play two Chicago lawyers from vastly different backgrounds who unexpectedly meet in court on the worst day of their lives. Brought together by fate and greed, they develop a partnership and friendship, forcing each other to find the balance between the ethical and the unscrupulous in both their professional and personal lives. 

FX has ordered 10 episodes of the sitcom and, as is standard with the 10/90 model, if the series meets designated ratings thresholds over its first 10-episode run, the network will trigger an additional 90-episode order. The 10/90 model is a unique syndication model crafted by Debmar-Mercury for multiple sitcoms, including FX's own Anger Management and the upcoming FX George Lopez series Saint George, Tyler Perry's House of Payne and Meet The Browns, and Revolution's and Ice Cube's Are We There Yet? The Martin-Grammer sitcom will air exclusively on FX until the off-network episodes start airing in broadcast syndication in fall 2017. We will have MUCH more information on this series soon, including the title, other members of the cast and when it will premiere with its 10-episode test run. Stay tuned.