Fox is continuing its run in animated comedy.
Variety has learned that the broadcaster is developing an animated series titled “Saloon” that hails from Elliott Kalan and Jenny Jaffe. it is set in the frontier outpost of Timmy’s Town. Kevin (a woman) runs the local saloon, McClanahan’s, where she functions as the townspeople’s unofficial leader/therapist/protector. At the other side of Timmy’s Town is do-gooder Sheriff Stacey Leslie (a man) whose only mission is to close Kevin’s “sinful” bar and run her out of town for good.
Kalan and Jaffe will both write and executive produce, with Gail Berman also executive producing via SideCar. Fox Entertainment and SideCar will produce.
Should the project go to series, it would be one of several animated shows currently on Fox. The network currently has cornerstones “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” and “Bob’s Burgers.” Freshman animated show “Bless the Harts” will launch on Sept. 29, while fellow animated shows “Duncanville” and “The Great North” will join the schedule at midseason.
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Kalan won four Emmy Awards for his work as the head writer on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” He also ran the Comedy Central series “The Fake News with Ted Nelms” and the Netflix revival of “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” His other credits include “The Who Was? Show” and “Harvey Girls Forever!” He currently co-hosts the podcast “The Flop House” and previously wrote the six-issue limited comic book series “Spider-Man and the X-Men.” He is repped by Verve, Artists First, and Schreck Rose.
Jaffe most recently wrote on the “Rugrats” reboot for Nickelodeon. Before that, she wrote for the Disney animated series “Big Hero 6,” “CollegeHumor Originals,” and MTV’s “Nikki and Sara Live.” She is also the creator and star of IFC’s “Neurotica.” As an actress, she has appeared in films like “Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk 2” and “Jack of the Red Hearts.” She is repped by Gersh, Mosaic, and Gray Krauss Sandler Des Rochers.
Fox announced a new deal with Berman back in February just ahead of the 21st Century Fox-Disney merger. Under the new deal, Berman and SideCar are to identify and incubate programming both for the network and third-party platforms. SideCar will be responsible for developing scripted and unscripted programming to complement the active development of Fox. Fox will retain ownership of all series that originate under the SideCar banner.
(Pictured: Elliott Kalan)