New Burnett sitcom in production stages
Fans of Carol Burnett may have another chance to laugh at the legendary actor’s antics.
Burnett could return to television via a multi-camera sitcom at ABC, it was confirmed Friday, although the project remains in the production stages.
Comedic genius will be behind the scenes as well, with Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live) serving as a producer on the as-yet-unnamed project.
In January, Poehler and Tina Fey (30 Rock, Saturday Night Live) awarded Burnett the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.
Online magazine Deadline reported Thursday that Burnett’s series has a put-pilot commitment from ABC, meaning that the network will have to air the pilot as a series or special, or face steep financial penalties.
Michael Saltzman will serve as writer and executive producer on the project.
Saltzman made his name on comedies such as Murphy Brown and Wings before moving on to more dramatic fare with AMC’s Mad Men and Halt and Catch Fire.
He told Deadline that there was a specific reason he was returning to comedy and that was Burnett.
“The very first meeting I had when I was trying to break into television as a writer was with Carol, who was exactly the same person in real life as she was on TV,” Saltzman said.
Saltzman recalled that Burnett presented a cheque with no contract or conditions.
“Her only instruction was to write anything — a play, a musical, a TV show, a movie, a poem. It didn’t matter,” Saltzman said. “She just wanted to give someone she believed in their start.”
Saltzman went on to note that he’d always wanted to return the favour to Burnett but never found the opportunity, until now.