Deadline has reported that Extended Family, an upcoming NBC comedy program, has re-started production. This is reported scripted writings’ big kick off after the strike ended four days ago. The show went back into production on November 13th.
Mike O’Malley’s series comes from Lionsgate Television and Universal Television. According to Deadline, the studio already had scripts written which allowed for a quick comeback post-strike. The chairman for Lionsgate TV even admitted on November 9th that the company was already back to work, though he didn’t list any specific shows. “We’re back to production immediately,” he said. “We have two network comedies that start shooting again on Monday.” It is now known that he was referring to Extended Family.
Deadline also highlighted another reason for the quick return of the show, which is that it is a multi-camera show. Multi-camera shows need the least lead time which means that Extended Family was able to kick start sooner. The second earliest show to return after the strike will be NBC’s multi-camera sitcom Night Court, which is set to begin on November 15th.
The show will air in midseason with a grand total of 13 episodes, says Deadline. It stars Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Abigail Spencer (Suits), Donald Fasion (Scrubs), Finn Sweeney (American Crime Story), and Sofia Capanna (Bucktown). O’Malley executive produces alongside Cryer, Tom Werner (The Cosby Show), Wyc Grousbeck (Anything is Possible), Emilia Fazzalari, and George Geyer (The Prodigal Son).
According to Deadline, “The series follows Jim (Cryer) and Julia (Spencer), who, after an amicable divorce, decide to continue to raise their kids at the family home while taking turns on who gets to stay with them. Navigating the waters of divorce and child-sharing gets more complicated for Jim when the owner of his favorite sports teams (Faison) enters the picture and wins Julia’s heart.”