On the same day that NBC confirmed his exit from "The Office" next year, Steve Carell signed on to star in and produce DreamWorks' comedy "Raised by Wolfs," the actor's publicist has confirmed to TheWrap.
The original pitch comes from Les Firestein, who co-created the Fox series "Wanda at Large" and was the head writer on the network's "In Living Color."
While plot details are being kept under wraps, the odd spelling of "Wolfs" is said to reference the main character's last name.
Carell will produce through his production company Carousel Productions, whose Vance DeGeneres and Charlie Hartsock will exec produce.
It's been a busy year for Carell, who starred opposite Tina Fey in the comedy "Date Night" and voiced the lead character in the animated hit "Despicable Me." His latest movie, "Dinner for Schmucks," opens on Friday and currently has an 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a mediocre Metacritic score of 58.
Carell's Carousel is also producing the comedies "Missing Links," "Mail-Order Groom" and "Hi-T," all of which are set up at Warner Bros.
An executive producer on "The Drew Carey Show," Firestein has the pilot "Nocturnal Mission" set up at Comedy Central. He's also revising the screenplay for the comedy "Don't Send Help" for producer David Friendly at 20th Century Fox.
Carell is represented by WME and Media Four, while UTA represents Firestein.
