Things We Saw Today: Kal Penn and Mike Schur Are Teaming Up For a New Pilot

Mike Schur, the comedy genius who produces some of the best sitcoms on television today, is partnering with Kal Penn to bring a new sitcom to NBC. The as-yet-to-be-titled pilot, co-written by Penn and Matt Murray, will follow a former NYC councilman named Garrett Shah who meets a group of six immigrants searching for the American dream and in need of his help. Penn will also star as Garrett. Schur has signed onto the project as a supervising executive producer.

The plot of the pilot sounds like it will fit right in with Schur’s general stable of ideas. The big question is is whether or not it will be as hopeful and upbeat as the other comedies under Schur’s Fremulon banner are. Given that Murray has collaborated with Schur in the past on such shows as Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, we can hope that he has taken lessons from Schur and that this comedy has the same attitude towards the world as other of Schur’s shows.

We’ve covered how Schur’s series tend to be about people trying to better themselves through their actions on a daily basis, from the generalized hope of Parks and Rec and Brooklyn 99 to the exact thesis of The Good Place. Garrett might be a more cynical, tired Leslie Knope who finds a restored faith in the power of doing the right thing through his interactions with the other characters, or he could be an Eleanor Shellstrop who learns to be better when people actually need to rely on him.

Schur will have another comedy, Abby’s, premiering in March on NBC. We’re excited to see where Schur takes us next, since we love him and his fantastic characters. Hopefully, Garrett and his friends will be just as awesome.

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Happy Tuesday, Suevians!

(via Variety, image:  Grant Lamos IV/Getty Images)

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