Fox has given out pilot orders to projects that hail from Lon Zimmet and Billy Finnegan. 20th Century Fox Television will produce both projects.
The Finnegan project is a single-camera comedy currently titled “Richard Lovely.” It follows the title character, the disgruntled author of the best-selling children’s book series, “Mr. Mouse.” He doesn’t hate children, but rather just everything about them. After a publicity fiasco involving an unexpectedly savvy 9-year-old kid, Mr. Mouse appears in Richard’s real life as he is forced into an unlikely father/son relationship that will change his life forever
Finnegan will write and executive produce the project with Kat Coiro also executive producing. Finnegan is an executive producer and writer on the Netflix comedy “Grace and Frankie.” His other credits include writing for “The Real O’Neals,” “Bad Teacher,” and “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23.” He is repped by CAA and Rise Management.
The Zimmet project is titled “Geniuses.” The multi-cam follows a blue-collar couple in South Jersey trying to get by and raise four kids, three of whom just happen to be certified geniuses. Zimmet will write and executive produce.
Zimmet most recently created the Fox comedy series “LA to Vegas.” His previous credits include “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Happy Endings,” “The Michael J. Fox Show,” and “Men at Work.” He is repped by UTA and Rise Management.
These mark the first comedy pilot orders for Fox this season, with the network previously having given out straight-to-series orders to the animated comedies “Duncanville” and “Bless the Harts.”
(Pictured: Lon Zimmet)