Tim Allen,Kirstie Allie, and Roseanne Barr are all on their way back to primetime, and now so is Jim Belushi. The Saturday Night Live alum is working with Murphy Brown creator Diane English on a new sitcom for ABC Studios, Deadline reports.
After a successful eight-season run, Belushi’s family sitcom, According to Jim, ended in 2009. Belushi moved on to the light legal drama The Defenders, which lasted only one season in spite of the popular pairing with his Blues Brothers buddy Dan Aykroyd. Comedy is in Belushi’s blood, and it’s clear that’s where he really belongs. This new series will bring him right back to his comfort zone; he will be playing a single father to a teenager -- it hasn’t been made clear whether that child will be male or female, but certainly giving him a teen daughter has serious potential for laughs.
Although ABC Studios won the bidding for the series, it will be shopped around to the other networks. Still, odds are good the series will wind up on ABC. Between Belushi’s successful comedy track record on television and Diane English on as creator, the series has a strong backing. However, a success like According to Jim is hard to follow, and we have seen plenty of comedy stars fail after long-running hit series. A big name can bring in viewers, but it takes a lot more to keep them. As with any series, great writing and great characters will be the key, and Belushi may have to do a little more than lumber through this one, grunting and drinking beer.
