Jason Katims is coming back to NBC. Variety has reported that a pilot by Katims and Jeffrey Seller, one of the producers from Broadway mega-hit Hamilton, has been ordered by the network.
The pilot is for a show called Drama High, which revolves around a drama department at a high school in a working class city.
Drama High is based off a book by Michael Sokolove, which revolves around teacher Lou Volpe, who was a high school drama teacher. The plot of the pilot about students who are inspired by drama teacher and flourish under his care. The show is being described as a cross between Glee and Friday Night Lights.
Universal TV will be the production studio in charge of the show and Drama High is part of Seller and Flody Suarez’s deal with Universal Television. Seller and Suarez are executive producing the show from their company, Seller Suarez Productions, and Katims and his producing partner, Michelle Lee, will also be executive producing from their company, True Jack Productions.
If Drama High is picked up for a series order, it will be Seller’s first scripted TV show. Katims has many shows under his belt, including the beloved Friday Night Lights, where he was an executive producer, and Parenthood, which he created.
Drama High could potentially be Katims’ third project on the air for the 2017-2018 season if the pilot is picked up, as he’s an executive producer on Hulu’s The Path and an executive producer on CBS’ Pure Genius. However, it’s unlikely that Pure Genius will be renewed for a second season because of its low ratings.
Drama High hasn’t yet been been picked up for the 2017-2018 TV season. Once casting for the pilot has happened, the pilot episode will be filmed and NBC will review it. If the network likes it, they’ll pick it up for 13 episodes, which is typical for new shows being ordered to the networks. The announcement of whether Drama High will be picked up will most likely be announced in late April or early May.