Beefing up their scripted comedy slate, MTV has given the greenlight to three new original comedies, Variety has learned.
The young-skewing cabler has ordered “Little Darlings,” an untitled series from Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, plus a scripted comedy starring comedian Nicole Byer. All three projects were picked up to pilot this fall.
“Little Darlings, a dark half-hour comedy, is about two unlikely friends, Jules and Ophelia, taking justice into their own hands and kicking literal ass on their college campus. Jules comes off as the perfect dream girl, but little do sorority sisters know, she’s got a completely different agenda come nightfall. Ophelia, an everyday stoner-hacker-hellion, is re-energized when she discovers Jules may be the masked vigilante exacting justice on campus. Created by 20-something Jennifer Kaytin Robinson who wrote the pilot and will co-exec produce the series, “Little Darlings” will be exec produced Stacey Sher and Amanda Lasher.
“Untitled Kaplan/Elfont Pilot” hails from writing team and exec producers Kaplan and Elfont (“Leap Year,” “Can’t Hardly Wait”). The series revolves around Paige and Jordan, who may be weed dealers, but in their eyes they are entrepreneurs. The laffer will be produced by Entertainment 360.
“Untitled Nicole Byer Project” is centered around the exploits of irreverent comedian Nicole Byer, who will portray a young adult who is forced to move in with her sister and four kids in the suburbs after causing a fire in her New York City apartment. Aunt Nicole will offer her own brand of advice to her sister’s kids while trying to get her life back on track. Byer will serve as a consulting producer on the single-camera comedy, while Christian Lander and Avi Gilbert are EPs. 3 Arts Entertainment will produce.
“We’re looking for creators and stories that capture the passionate voice of youth,” said MTV president Sean Atkins. “Each of these very tonally and visually different series, represents a unique and provocative point of view and we’re excited to bring them to life on MTV.”
On their development slate, the Viacom-owned cable net is also working on a political-themed dramedy, “The Campaigners,” which follows a group of overachieving undergrads who use their social media savvy to get a fictional candidate nominated for the upcoming senate election.
