Weeds' Justin Kirk To Star In NBC Comedy Pilot Animal Kingdom

After seven seasons of Weeds, some of the Showtime series’ mainstays are looking to go in a new direction. Side character Kevin Nealon has already headed in a new direction, signing on with NBC’s new pilot, Isabel, about a family dealing with a daughter who has magical powers. It looks like NBC is invested in pulling multiple members of the Weeds cast over to the peacock network. Now, Weeds lead Justin Kirk has signed on to headline a pilot of his own.

Kirk is set to play the lead in new NBC comedy Animal Kingdom, not to be confused with the remake of the Australian crime family movie, Animal Kingdom, which is headed to Showtime as a TV series. According to Deadline, Kirk’s Animal Kingdom pilot will not be about cutting down some humans, but will be about saving the lives of some furry fuzzballs. Kirk will play a snarky veterinarian that loves the animals, but hates the people. Anthony and Joe Russo are directing and executive producing alongside Brian Gatewood and Alex Tanaka.

While Kevin Nealon worked out a nice little deal with NBC and Showtime to appear on both Isabel and Weeds next year, we currently do not know whether taking the lead in Animal Kingdom will have an effect on Kirk’s role as Andy on Weeds. Since Andy is often integral to the plot on Weeds, I would guess it is highly likely Andy’s status will change on the show, if not diminished completely, should Animal Kingdom go to series. Seeing whether Kirk can fully carry a show will absolutely be worth it, even if he won’t get to brandish a gun and play a gangster.