Breakout TikTok star Sarah Cooper is developing a single-camera comedy at CBS inspired by her book “How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings.”
In a competitive situation with a penalty attached, Cooper is attached to co-write and executive produce the potential series, with Cindy Chupack onboard as co-writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Nina Tassler, Denise Di Novi, and Joan Boorstein will executive produce under their PatMa Productions banner. CBS Television Studios, where PatMa is under an overall deal, will produce.
The series would follow three women at different stages in their careers at a male-dominated company as they help each other navigate modern gender politics in their careers and in their personal lives.
“I was so excited when PatMa approached me about my book,” Cooper said. “I met with Cindy soon after and we immediately connected to this idea of sharing the experiences of women in their careers and personal lives in a way that stays true to what people love about the book but brings them to life through characters people will identify with. Cindy totally got the sensibility and the satire but she also has the experience of telling compelling stories. I am thrilled to be working with her on this.”
Cooper shot to fame on TikTok when her lip sync impressions of President Donald Trump went viral. Her first video, “How to Medical,” has been viewed over 20 million times so far. She has since made appearances on “The Ellen Show,” “The Tonight Show,” as well as guest hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” She has also been selected as one of Variety‘s 10 Comics to Watch for 2020. It was announced last week that Cooper is set to star in her own Netflix comedy special.
In addition to “How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings,” she also wrote the book “100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings.” She is next set to pen an auto-biographical take of Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” for Audible.
She is repped by WME, AGI Entertainment Media and Management, David Black Agency, and Morris Yorn.
“Sarah is a perfect example of ‘preparation meets opportunity,” Chupack said. “Her Trump lip-synchs fed a laugh-starved nation, but even before she was a household name, she wrote books that showcased her keen eye for the absurd. I’m thrilled to be collaborating with her to adapt ‘How to Be Successful Without Hurting Men’s Feelings’ into a fresh, funny, subversive comedy about modern sexual politics.”
Chupack is a two-time Emmy winner — once for her work on “Sex and the City” and another for her work on “Modern Family.” Her other TV credits include “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Better Things,” “Divorce,” and “Coach.” She previously created the shows “Madigan Men” and “Love Bites.”
She is repped by UTA, Lighthouse Management + Media, and Ziffren Brittenham LLP.
“We are thrilled to be working with Sarah Cooper and Cindy Chupack,” the PatMa team said. “They both have made a tremendous impact on the world of comedy and we are excited to see them bring this to life, and to CBS.”