In a changing of the self-titled comedy guard, TV Land announced on Tuesday (July 29) that it has given a series order to “The Gaffigan Show,” while also confirming that “Kirstie” has been cancelled after only one season.
As you might guess, “The Gaffigan Show” comes from best-selling author and Hot Pockets enthusiast Jim Gaffigan. The single-camera comedy has been ordered for 10 episodes and will shoot in New York, premiering in 2015.
Based on Gaffigan's experiences balancing fatherhood, stand-up comedy and “an insatiable appetite,” “The Gaffigan Show” has played an interesting version of network hopscotch. The project, created by Gaffigan and Peter Tolan, was developed and shot for CBS in 2013 and then redeveloped and shot this spring. It will now air on TV Land, with Comedy Central securing rights to air episodes one week after their premiere.
“I am thrilled that TV Land is giving us this opportunity to do this show that Peter, Jeannie [Gaffigan] and I have been fine-tuning for three years,” said Jim Gaffigan. “I'm probably most excited about the craft service. I gained 20 pounds for this role. Ok, fine. It was 40 pounds.”
In addition to Gaffigan, “The Gaffigan Show” also stars Ashley Williams, Adam Goldberg and Michael Ian Black, with a pilot directed by Seth Gordon.
“We love Jim Gaffigan”s brand of humor,” blurbs TV Land President Larry W. Jones. “The second we saw this show we knew we wanted it on TV Land. The audience that TV Land is targeting is Gen Xers who are raising families so we love that this show reflects their world. Only funnier.”
As fans of “Community” and “Breaking In” (also directed by Gordon) and “Damages” and “Unforgettable” know, nobody gets seemingly dead projects resurrected like “Gaffigan Show” producers Sony Pictures Television.
Of course, circle-of-life, as “The Gaffigan Show” entered, “Kirstie” was officially put to rest after a lone 12-episode season. That comedy, starring Kirstie Alley, Rhea Perlman and Michael Richards, had already lost creator/showrunner Marco Pennette after ending its run in February.