According to Deadline, ABC is currently in talks with Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Office) to helm the U.S. adapted pilot of Motherland, an eccentric British sitcom series. Karan Soni (the Deadpool franchise, Strange World) is also on the docket for a lead role in the upcoming ABC project, which is being both written and executive produced by Julieanne Smolinski (Grace & Frankie, Home Economics).
The story of Motherland focuses on Julia (the role which Kemper is currently in negotiations to portray), a working mom whose daily routine has become tedious, forcing her to venture out in search of a lifestyle that will shake her out of her current funk. Julia embarks on this quest with her friends Calvin (the character that Soni is slated to play) and Liz. Along the way the team of friends struggle to find a way to do the impossible task of deciphering the proper algorithm for a perfect work-life balance.
As written by Deadline, “This is a comedy for anybody who’s dropped their kids at school, breathed a sigh of relief…then realized it’s Sunday.”
The original series of Motherland tells the story of a group of parents in a middle-class suburb of London learning how to deal with the complicated social politics of raising children as working adults. Just like its American counterpart, the original Motherland started out as a comedy pilot that premiered on BBC nearly seven years ago in 2016, before airing its first, complete season the year after in 2017.
The upcoming remake of Motherland is also set to feature Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer, Search Party) as director, with Paul Feig (Welcome to Flatch, The Office) serving as executive producer alongside Smolinski, original Motherland series creator Sharon Horan (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Disenchantment, Celia Mountford (HouseBroken, Bad Sisters), Kira Carstensen (Outage, Rebel Hearts), Dan Magnante (Minx, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist), Holly Walsh (The Other One, Glued), and Helen Serafinowicz (Fit, Look Around You).