Paul James (Soundtrack, The Last Ship) is the latest to join Showtime’s upcoming comedy pilot I Love This For You, according to Deadline. The actor joins Vanessa Bayer (Ibiza, Trainwreck), Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon (Superstar, Hannibal), and Cybill Shepherd (Moonlighting, Taxi Driver) as a series regular.
According to Deadline, the half-hour comedy stars Bayer playing a character loosely based on her own past. A child leukemia survivor, Bayer’s character sets her sights on finally obtaining her dream job as host of a home shopping network. James will play Jordan Wahl, the network’s stage manager.
The series is created by Bayer and Jeremy Beiler (Men In Black 3, Morning Glory), according to Deadline. Bayer and Beiler will also executive produce along with the series’ showrunner Jessi Klein (Big Mouth, Michael and Michael Have Issues) and director Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, The Big Sick). Other producers include Annapurna’s Megan Ellison (Zero Dark Thirty, The Master), Semi-Formal’s Sue Naegle (The Battle of Buster Scruggs, Shirley), and Jordana Mollick (Life Partners, The LoveBirds).
According to Deadline, James’ previous work includes appearances in National Geographic’s pandemic miniseries The Hot Zone, Hulu’s cult drama The Path, TNT’s action-packed The Last Ship, and ABC Family’s (now FreeForm) college dramedy, Greek. He is most known for 2019’s Netflix musical drama, Soundtrack. Created by Joshua Safran (Quantico, Gossip Girl), the now-canceled series followed a group of Los Angeles transplants through their relationships. Each couple’s lives – both past and present – were told through musical numbers of contemporary and classic songs. The one-season show also starred Jenna Dewan (Step Up, The Resident), Callie Hernandez (Alien: Covenant, Blair Witch), Megan Ferguson (The Fundamentals of Caring, Suburbicon), Madeleine Stowe (The Last of the Mohicans, Revenge), Campbell Scott (Royal Pains, Dying Young), and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (In Fabric, Without A Trace).