Chevy Chase may have left Community, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with TV comedies for good. This week, the comedian has signed on with ABC for a brand new pilot, starring opposite his National Lampoon’s Vacation co-star Beverly D’Angelo. ABC has already ordered a pilot for the new project, which is rolling with the title Chev & Bev. The pilot is one of several ABC picked up this week.
The Chevy Chase project has been in the works for a while. Back in January of 2014, we first heard that Chase and D’Angelo might reunite for a family sitcom over at ABC. Now the sitcom has moved to the next stage in the pick-up process, we have a few more details. The two actors will play a married couple onscreen, once again. ABC is describing the two actors as a retired couple living a perfectly pleasant existence until their world is turned upside down when they are stuck raising their grandkids. According to THR, Chev & Bev will be written by My Name is Earl’s Brad Copeland and will be executive produced by Kapital Entertainment's Kaplan
Chase and D’Angelo’s history is long and storied. Back in 1983, Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo piled into a car for one of the most memorable cinematic road trips of all time. National Lampoon’s Vacation is widely considered to be a comedy classic, and is often cited as one of the best entries in the National Lampoon canon. Following National Lampoon’s Vacation, Chase and D’Angelo reprised the roles of Ellen and Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation, Vegas Vacation and European Vacation. They are also expected to pop up in the roles in the 2015 Vacation film, although the roles are expected to be small ones this time around.
Obviously, if Chev & Bev moves forward, it will be interesting to see if Chevy Chase will be able to handle himself on another TV set. During his time on Community, the actor notoriously had problems, including an on-set feud with the show’s creator, Dan Harmon. He eventually left the series during Season 4 and hasn’t been seen in a television comedy since.
The Chev & Bev pilot is probably the most interesting of ABC’s pick-ups, but there are a few more pilots ABC already has in contention. Shonda Rhimes has yet another pilot in contention called The Catch, which will follow a strong female “forensic accountant” who “exposes fraud.” Sounds about right. Broad Squad comes from Gossip Girl’s Josh Schwartz and would be a period project following four women who graduate in 1978 from the Boston Police Academy. There’s also an untitled comedy pilot based on writer Dan Savage’s life. We'll let you know if Chev & Bev or any of the others end up moving forward to series later this year.
