Linda Lavin Joins Sean Hayes' Pilot At NBC

Sean Hayes’ new pilot at NBC may not even have a name, yet, but it does have its leads fully cast. Hayes will star in the comedy as Sean, a father of a 14-year-old and a busy career man who is dealing with a difficult-to-please boss. Now, NBC has added veteran actress Linda Lavin to the mix.

Lavin will co-star in the untitled project, which was picked up to pilot by NBC in January. According to TV Line, in the pilot, Lavin will play Sean’s mother. Although we don’t know much about Lavin’s character, I am hoping she will be around for Sean’s daughter in the series. Since the pilot will follow a lead character who is juggling work and parenting, it would be good to get some help, even if that help is from his mother.

Victor Fresco, Todd Milliner, and Hayes are executive producing the pilot, and if the project makes it to series, it should be a good thing for both Hayes and Lavin. Hayes has been taking TV guest roles on television for the last several years, looking for a meatier leading role. He almost had another series at NBC a little while back with Rescue Me creator Peter Tolan, but it didn’t take. Lavin hasn’t had a role on television since she took a guest stint on The O.C., and it's high time she graced us with her presence on the small screen, again.

Plus, both actors have such similar, joyful smiles. They are a perfect fit for a TV family, and fans of Lavin or Hayes just need to keep their fingers crossed that the project is a perfect fit for NBC.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.