Christopher Lloyd may not have as big of a celebrity profile as he had in his days as Doc Brown in the Back to the Future franchise, but he still manages to surface in an acting role every now and then. In the last two years the actor has popped up on television shows like 12 Monkeys and The Big Bang Theory, and in 2018, Lloyd is gearing up to make a big broadcast TV return. Lloyd has joined the cast of an NBC comedy pilot Guess Who Died, which is set in a retirement community.
Christopher Lloyd has joined Guess Who Died not that long after the show was first announced, and will play Mort. Mort is described as a crusty and grumpy old man with an air of mystery as well as a vast amount of wealth. Lloyd will play just one of the salty codgers poking around the Las Esperanzado Senior Community in Palm Springs, which is where the single-camera comedy pilot takes place. Lloyd will join Hector Elizondo, who will star in the series as retired music executive Murray, and Holland Taylor, who will play Mort's former flight attendant and good-humored sister-in-law Patricia. The cast will also include actors Adrian Martinez, a security guard at the retirement facility named Lopez, and Beth Lacke, who plays Murray's daughter Cybil.
Guess Who Died has a little bit of television royalty working behind the scenes, as THR reported Norman Lear co-wrote the pilot alongside Peter Tolan. Lear is responsible for television classics like All In The Family, Good Times, Sanford And Son, The Jeffersons and the original version of One Day At A Time. Now at the age of 95, Lear is hoping to bring this pilot to television which is based on his personal experience of old-age and retirement. Co-writer Tolan is no slouch either as he was the creator of FX's Rescue Me and The Jim Gaffigan Show and has several writing credits on many other notable shows.
The possibility of Christopher Lloyd coming back to network television in a more frequent capacity is an exciting one, as this project could be the first major series-regular role Christopher Lloyd has had since 2005. Back then, Lloyd was a cast member on the failed Pamela Anderson led Fox series Stacked, which is really all that needs to be said about that series. Beyond that show, Lloyd did have a recurring stint on the PBS series Cyberchase, although the series was animated and didn't feature Lloyd in the flesh. Guess Who Died will be a chance for Lloyd to make the world laugh once again, and if he's even half as sharp as he was back in his Taxi days, no doubt he'll succeed.
Guess Who Died is still in pilot status at NBC, so no release date or series order has been announced at this time. For a list of some television shows that are guaranteed to premiere in the near future, head on over to our midseason premiere guide.
