Showtime has ordered a pilot for “White Famous,” a comedy from exec producer Jamie Foxx and “Californication” creator Tom Kapinos. Aside from his behind-the-camera duties, Foxx will also guest star in a recurring role.
The half-hour comedy, hailing from Lionsgate Television, will focus on a talented, young African-American comedian whose star is rising, forcing him to navigate the treacherous waters of maintaining his credibility as he begins to cross-over towards becoming “white famous.”
“I came up from standup comedy, so to be able to share that aspect of my life on screen with a project like ‘White Famous’ is incredibly exciting,” said Foxx. “We couldn’t have found better partners than Showtime, Lionsgate and Tom Kapinos to tell this story in the best possible way.”
“They say you can’t go home again, but I’m thrilled to be back at Showtime, where I’m equally jazzed to be working with the brilliant Jamie Foxx on the creation of another wickedly profane TV antihero,” said Kapinos, who returns to the network, following seven seasons of David Duchovny’s “Californication,” which he created, wrote and exec produced.
“White Famous” is the second project at Showtime to center around the early days of standup comedians. The cable network recently picked up a dark comedy from exec producer Jim Carrey, titled “I’m Dying Up Here” — the series is set in L.A. standup comedy scene of the ’70s.
