CBS has given a pilot order to “Rust Belt News,” a comedy written and executive produced by Matt Warburton.
The single-camera series is set in a small Ohio town where the local newspaper goes out of business, leaving the ambitious, angsty reporters of the high school newspaper as the only people left to report on scandals, dig up corruption and generally polish the rust off their rust-belt community.
Along with Warburton, executive producers include Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo on behalf of Alloy Entertainment. Warner Bros. Television is the studio.
Warburton began his career as a writer on “The Simpsons” from 2001 to 2012, also serving as a co-producer, producer, supervising producer and co-executive producer during his time on the show. He served as showrunner and executive producer of Mindy Kaling’s “The Mindy Project” for all four seasons, and continued working with Kaling afterwards, writing and producing on her shows “Champions” on NBC, “Never Have I Ever” on Netflix and “The Sex Lives of College Girls” on HBO Max. In 2019, the two co-created Hulu’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” a miniseries adapted from Richard Curtis’ 1994 film of the same name. Warburton’s credits also include writing and producing on NBC’s “Community” and Peacock’s reboot of “Saved by the Bell.”
Morgenstein, president and founder of Alloy Entertainment, is known for executive producing projects including “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” films, “The Vampire Diaries” and “Pretty Little Liars,” along with “The 100,” “You” and the “Gossip Girl” revival, which executive vice president Girolamo also executive produced.