ABC has given the go-ahead to a half-hour sitcom pilot starring ex-Seinfeld sidekick Jason Alexander from 20th Century Fox TV.
Alexander, who played the smarmy George Costanza on Seinfeld, will be featured as a motivational speaker with a dysfunctional life in Bob Patterson. Alexander is also an executive producer on the project. Former Ellen executive producer Tim Doyle will serve as showrunner for the project. Doyle, Peter Tilden and Ira Behr will write the pilot script. The show is targeted for ABC's fall 2001 schedule.
If the pilot does not make ABC's fall schedule, producer 20th Century Fox will receive a reported seven-figure penalty fee.
The deal follows Seinfeld regular Julia Louis-Dreyfus's pact with NBC for a half-hour sitcom. Fellow Seinfeld alum Michael Richards starred in a short-lived detective comedy on NBC this season.
- Richard Tedesco
