It has been far too long since Christopher Guest gathered his improv comedy ensemble – including Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Michael Hitchcock, John Michael Higgins, Jane Lynch, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban and the rest – together to shoot more than just an advert or that short film from this year’s Oscars. So the idea that he might be bringing his comic touch to television makes us go for it like we’re a dog and it’s made out of ham.
Vulture reports that Guest and another regular collaborator, Jim Piddock, are at work on a new idea, but one that will head for the small screen. Currently titled Family Tree, it’s an improvised comedy that would find a man (played, if all comes together, by Empire favourite Chris O’Dowd) looking to find his real family.
Right now, zero deals are in place and things are still at the discussion stage, but apparently Guest and Piddock are aiming for US cable outlets like HBO and Showtime and original telly newcomer Netflix.
So if the fickle fates have their way, this could all still vanish back into the ether, but given Guest’s track record, we’re keeping our fingers and toes crossed that this actually happens.
O’Dowd, meanwhile, is a fiendishly busy man, between creating TV comedy with Moone Boy, appearing in Cannes hit The Sapphires and lining up roles in Cuban Fury and Calvary. He’ll next be seen in Judd Apatow’s This Is 40, which is out on December 21.