“Girls” alum Jake Lacy has landed a series regular role in the upcoming Showtime series “I’m Dying Up Here,” TheWrap has learned.
Lacy will play a stand-up comic who gained some notoriety a few years back by blowing off “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” on the night he was scheduled to appear.
His issues with substance abuse and family tragedy inform his comedy as he tries to re-acclimate into the early-’70s L.A. comedy scene. But not everyone is quick to welcome him back, nor is he interested in conforming to their idea of what comedy is.
Lacy is best known to television audiences for his role as Fran on “Girls.” He also played Pete, a.k.a Plop, on “The Office” during the show’s final season. And he appeared opposite Oscar nominee Rooney Mara in “Carol,” the critically acclaimed Todd Haynes film starring Cate Blanchett.
“I’m Dying Up Here,” which has been ordered to series at Showtime, is set in the infamous world of stand up comedy in LA in the 1970s.
Dave Flebotte will write and executive produce the series, with Jim Carrey and Michael Aguilar, and Christina Wayne of Endemol Shine Studios and Assembly Entertainment also executive producing.
The pilot was directed by Jonathan Levine. The pilot is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by William Knoedelseder.
7 Fierce New Fall TV Match-Ups: 'Supergirl' vs. 'Big Bang,' 'Empire' vs. 'Frequency' (Photos)
Click through the following slides to find TheWrap's seven new fall broadcast TV match-ups worth keeping an eye on ...
Good news, bad news, "Supergirl": You have a new home on the lesser-viewed CW, but at least you get to stay on Monday nights! (And on TV.)
There's just one problem, however -- CBS still needs to program that hour, and as such, the Melissa Benoist vehicle must now start against TV's top comedy, the powerhouse "Big Bang Theory."
"Rosewood" Sans "Empire" vs. "Thursday Night Football":
"Rosewood" has proven to be a much-weaker performer without "Empire" behind it, so a move to Thursday and a "Bones" pairing could be quite problematic.
Plus, the Morris Chestnut procedural will also now have to contend with some "Thursday Night Football," which will be split between CBS and NBC. Good luck with that, Dr. Rosewood.
"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" vs. The reality of Friday viewing:
"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" performed pretty terribly in Nielsen TV ratings for its first year, which explains why the CW banished it to Fridays. The only problem is, that lowly viewed evening is likely to tank demo and overall eyeball numbers even further.
There's only so much the critics can do to keep a darling on the airwaves.
More bad news for the CW. New drama "Frequency" has been slotted for Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. Sound familiar, drama fans? That's because broadcast's top show in the 18-49 demographic, "Empire," owns that spot.
"Empire" skews young, which is exactly the type of viewers courted by the CW. Good luck to you, "Frequency" -- hope you like delayed viewing!
Neither "Conviction" nor "Timeless" feel like they have heads of steam following their trailers being unveiled at their networks' respective upfront presentations.
"Scorpion," however, is a proven commodity. With Fox and CW not scheduling national programming at 10 p.m., it'll be the battle of those dramas -- one that "Scorpion," even in a new time slot, should have no problem winning.
"Son of Zorn" is actually programmed in the right slot -- Sunday nights on Fox between "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy." Unfortunately, it -- like every other show that evening -- must contend with TV's top broadcast, "Sunday Night Football."
At least young males -- "Zorn's" target" -- don't like football. Oh, wait ...
CBS
