NBC has lifted the cast-contingency on half-hour comedy pilot Zip now that they've found their leading man in Steven Weber.Weber is certainly no stranger to the Peacock, having starred on comedy Wings for eight seasons between 1990 and 1997, short-lived comedy Cursed, and last season's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. (He of the famously hooded eyes also did a multiple-episode arc on Will & Grace.)
So it's no surprise that NBC has turned to golden boy Weber to anchor its comedy pilot, especially in this, its latest incarnation. Zip was shot as a pilot last season with Rob Huebel as its lead in a story about a con man dreaming of giving his three kids a taste of the good life in Beverly Hills.
When Zip's pilot failed to make the cut last season (and Reveille honcho Ben Silverman ascended to the top gig), the project was placed back into development, a new script written by series creator Mark Rizzo, Michael Benson, and Marc Abrams, and a cast-contingency order placed on the project.
Fingers crossed that this time around the producers are able to make it work as I think that Zip is a fun and buoyant comedic take on The Riches that I think would fit in with NBC's Comedy Done Right Thursday night lineup... if they do it right this time.
What's On Tonight
8 pm: NCIS (CBS); Singing Bee (NBC); Beauty and the Geek (CW); Cavemen/Carpoolers (ABC); Bones (FOX)
9 pm: The Unit (CBS); The Biggest Loser (NBC; 8:30-10 pm); Reaper (CW); Dancing with the Stars (ABC); House (FOX)
10 pm: Cane (CBS); Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC); Boston Legal (ABC)
What I'll Be Watching
8 pm: Beauty & the Geek.
I'm a sucker for the CW's "social experiment" Beauty & the Geek. On tonight's episode ("Super Geek"), the teams travel to a comic-book convention, where their challenge is to create a comic-book superhero; the geeks are tasked with designing the costume while the beauties devise their characters' backstories.
10 pm: Damages on FX.
FX's brilliant legal drama concludes tonight with its final episode, in which Phil angrily confronts Michael about what he was doing in their apartment that night, Tom confronts Ellen about what she and Patty did, Patty pays Katie a visit in order to get her hands on that tape, and Beardy Weirdy (is he a cop?!?) says how sorry he is for Ellen's loss. I cannot wait!
Comments
Last weeks episode gave some hints at what the second series could hold (Ellen being tried for david'd murder) because that can't all be wrapped up in this weeks final episode. CAN IT??