It always strikes me as odd whenever networks start developing comedies without bothering to get any actual comedic actors involved. Thankfully, Fox is doing right by their latest comedy pilot 48 Hours ‘Til Monday, as they’ve tapped Rob “I’m in Everything” Riggle for the lead role, with Saturday Night Live vet Jane Curtin as his co-lead. It almost doesn’t matter who else joins in now, because this could be gold.
If you’re into context clues, you’ve already picked up on the fact that 48 Hours ‘Til Monday is in reference to the weekend, and Riggle is set to play Charlie, a husband with three kids. One of Charlie’s central motivations in life is to make sure that his weekends don’t always go to shit, according to Deadline. It’s unclear whether he’s interested in spending those weekends with his wife and children, or if he’s more invested in getting away from them entirely, but Fox isn’t exactly known for its sensitive, family-oriented male characters. (Al Bundy’s NO MA’AM, am I right?)
Curtin will be one of the reasons why Charlie is seeking relief, as she’ll be playing his chain-smoking mother-in-law Louise. (I’ll take TV Tropes for $400.) She and her husband are actually living with Charlie and his family, and her later-in-life child-rearing efforts leave much to be desired. Now I can’t wait to see who will be playing Curtin’s husband. Is it too much (or too unwanted) to ask for Dan Aykroyd to make a small screen comeback to reteam with his Coneheads co-star?
Produced by Universal TV and TBD Productions, 48 Hours ‘Til Monday is the brainchild of former Saturday Night Live writer Charlie Grandy. (His time on the show started well after Curtin left.) He also spent years writing for The Daily Show, and penned several episodes of The Office and The Mindy Project. He also created the short-lived Guys with Kids, but that’s not quite as memorable as the rest of his resume.
Riggle has been all over the big and small screen in recent years, with roles in Let’s Be Cops, Dumb & Dumber 2, Maron, The League, Marry Me and Modern Family, to name but a handful. He’ll next be seen in the Crackle original feature Dead Rising: Watchtower, and his voice work will be heard in Terry Jones’ Absolutely Anything and Tom Gianas and Ross Shuman’s Hell & Back.
Curtin, meanwhile, was most recently seen back on the Weekend Update desk for SNL 40. She was a regular on the CBS series Unforgettable and appeared on TNT’s The Librarians last year.
