EXCLUSIVE: Steve McPherson is betting on young new comedy voices in his first turn as a producer this season. The former ABC topper is backing a half-hour project by Juilliard graduate student Kate Gersten, which has sold to Fox through McPherson’s first-look deal with the network. Lionsgate TV, where McPherson also has a deal, is producing, along with McPherson’s Wonder Monkey and Fishbowl.
Gersten is heading into her third year as a playwright fellow at Juilliard. The Fox project, which marks her first TV sale, is based on a play by her and centers on two best friends from high school who reconnect later in life. Gersten has strongly gravitated to comedy, something rather unusual for a young playwright. Fox has a tradition fostering female comedy voices with New Girl creator Liz Meriwether, The Mindy Project creator-star Mindy Kaling and American Dad‘s Nahnatchka Khan, who has a high-profile project in development. McPherson is executive producing the Gersten project, with her serving as co-executive producer. The deal comes on the heels of McPherson selling another comedy from a young writer to Fox, a half-hour written by Brandon Schwartz. Gersten, who also has done some work as an actress, is with Paradigm and the Shuman Co.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Bonnie Sommerville would be perfect for this.
I can almost guarantee she will get the lead in Younger.
Totally agree. She screams comedy, almost as much if not more than “Juilliard” and “McPherson.”
Nice headshot.
Congrats, but serious question: are there any ugly writers anymore?