Jake Johnson (New Girl, Let’s Be Cops, Jurassic World) and Damon Wayans Jr. (New Girl, Let’s Be Cops, The Other Guys) are reuniting for an untitled Hulu pilot inspired by the 1996 dark comedy The Cable Guy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson and Wayans Jr. will both star in and executive produce the project.
The pilot follows Chip Douglas, played by Johnson, an old-school cable technician struggling to find his place in a world dominated by streaming services and algorithms. His life changes when Steven Stephens, played by Wayans Jr., calls to have his cable service restored, reconnecting Chip with a childhood friend he never forgot.
The friendship initially gives both men something they have been missing, but Chip’s enthusiasm eventually develops into an obsession. Inspired by The Cable Guy, the project will explore what its official logline describes as the “darkly absurd side of modern-day male friendship.”
Johnson revealed that the project came together after he reunited with Wayans Jr. at an event celebrating Tess Sanchez’s book We’ve Decided to Go in a Different Direction. At the time, Wayans Jr. was starring alongside his father, Damon Wayans (My Wife and Kids, Major Payne, The Last Boy Scout), in the CBS sitcom Poppa’s House. Johnson suggested that the two work together again if the series ended, and Wayans Jr. called him two days later after learning the show had been canceled.
After the actors told their agents they wanted to reunite, the Cable Guy project came their way. Johnson said they did not want to simply remake the original film, which starred Jim Carrey (The Truman Show, Bruce Almighty) and was directed by Ben Stiller (Zoolander, Tropic Thunder, Meet the Fockers).
New Girl writer and executive producer Rob Rosell (Just Beyond, Chad, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) joined the project and helped reshape the concept. Johnson said the original movie instead serves as a starting point for the new series. The project was subsequently pitched to Hulu, which ordered and filmed the pilot.
Johnson and Wayans Jr. previously starred together as Nick Miller and Coach, respectively, on New Girl. They also appeared together in the 2014 comedy Let’s Be Cops.
The two recently reunited with New Girl co-stars Zooey Deschanel (500 Days of Summer, Trolls, The Happening), Max Greenfield (The Big Short, Promising Young Women, The Neighborhood), Lamorne Morris (Game Night, Fargo, Bloodshot) and Hannah Simone (Killing Gunther, Oldboy, Not Dead Yet) at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball. Greenfield said he hopes to make an appearance in the new project if Hulu orders it to series.
Hulu has not yet announced whether the untitled pilot will receive a series order.
