Fox hasn't had the best luck in recent years when it comes to comedies, but sitcom New Girl at least is still going strong in its sixth season. Creator Liz Meriwether proved that she has what it takes to craft a quality comedy for primetime. Now, Fox is gambling the Meriwether will bring her magic touch to a brand new comedy, which... has kind of an unusual premise. The network has committed to create a pilot for Meriwether's prospective sitcom, which is currently titled Thin Ice.
Thin Ice will be a single-camera sitcom revolving around the shenanigans of a woman in the most unlikely circumstances. If it moves forward, this woman will gain the opportunity to achieve her dreams when she ends up in Antarctica. The leading lady will have a team of brilliant but oddball misfits around her in the unforgiving climate. The extreme cold won't be enough to stop sparks from flying, and we should expect some surprising romances out of the group.
Liz Meriwether is attached to Thin Ice as the creator, writer, and executive producer. She wrote the first episode with the help of Ed Macdonald and Mark Grimmer, both of whom will work as co-executive producers. Meriwether shares the primary executive producing duties with her New Girl collaborator Katherine Pope. Fox has made a pilot production commitment to Thin Ice, so Meriwether and Co. are guaranteed to see at least one episode make it to production.
Fox apparently considers the wild premise a major selling point for the comedy. Antarctica is a location that hasn't really been explored on a regular basis on the small screen, so Thin Ice could set itself apart on the sitcom scene based on setting alone. We just probably shouldn't expect as many short skirts on Thin Ice as we see on New Girl.
All in all, although Thin Ice does have a premise that hasn't already been exhausted by other sitcoms, it actually doesn't sound all that different from New Girl aside from the Antarctica setting. New Girl began by moving Jess into a brand new environment. She was surrounded by a handful of quirky characters, then later fell for and started dating one of them. The New Girl formula has obviously been a success for Fox, so it's not a huge surprise that the network would sign on for series that sounds awfully similar but just different enough. Who knows? Maybe Liz Meriwether will be able to bring as many laughs to Antarctica as she did to the loft in Los Angeles. If the oddball misfits break out awesome Halloween costumes and manage crossovers, the show could definitely be worth the watch.
The Thin Ice pilot will be produced for Fox in early 2017. Check out our midseason TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to catch on the small screen in the not-too-distant future, and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest news on new shows from major networks.
