Fans of Mary Louise Parker will be happy to know that she may be returning to TV. The Weeds star is confirmed to star in an NBC comedy pilot called Feed Me. The single-camera comedy comes from TV veterans Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas.
Deadline says Witt and Thomas got the pilot greenlit last month with Parker's name attached at the time as the intended star. Sally Robinson (writer of Lifetime's Steel Magnolias remake) wrote the pilot. The update confirms that Parker is on board to play the lead in the comedy, which is described as a "comedic exploration of adult intimacy and desire that centers on a dysfunctional family bound by love and the restaurant they run together." The story involves an extramarital affair that results in the family having to "circle the wagons to fiercely protect one of their own."
Parker was fantastic in Weeds, so it's especially exciting to hear word that she'll be at the center of a new comedy. And her name attached could certainly improve this project's chances of making it beyond the pilot stage. NBC has struggled in recent years to find new comedies with any staying power, and as ratings for Sean Saves the World and The Michael J. Fox Show can attest, a big name isn't enough to anchor a series and draw in viewers, and competition at the other networks continues to grow. With that in mind, NBC may be approaching all of their comedy options tentatively in the hopes that they'll be able to rebuild what was once a really solid line-up of comedies. So we'll have to wait and see how things go for this one. In the meantime, it has an interesting premise with a family focus, which could make it a good fit to air ahead if Parenthood, and now it has an excellent (and fascinating!) star attached. It'll be interesting to see who else is cast in this pilot. If the comedy goes to series, this will be a return to TV for Parker. After Weeds wrapped up in 2012, the actor returned to feature work, with roles in R.I.P.D. and Red 2.
Feed Me also has two TV veterans involved. Witt's credits go back to The Partridge Family, Soap and The Golden Girls. He also executive produced for Beauty and the Beast, both the 80s-90s drama and the more recent CW series. Thomas also executive produced Soap, The Golden Girls and both Beauty and the Beasts as well. So they certainly aren't novices when it comes to making TV shows, however from a look at their credits, it seems that if this project goes to series, it'll be the first network TV comedy that either has worked for since the Rhea Perlman comedy Pearl, which aired in the 90s.
