If all goes well for USA in the coming years, the cable channel may be as well associated with great original comedies as they are with fun original dramas. That seems to be the plan for USA, as they've recently ordered two comedy series, and they just gave the greenlight to a half-hour comedy pilot from Fairly Legal executive producer Peter Ocko, titled Divide & Conquer. This one may be particularly fitting, given USA's plans to air Modern Family later this year, as Divide & Conquer also happens to have a focus on family.
The pilot is described as "a family comedy about love, support, attention and all the other things parents do to mess up their kids." The story follows Ben and Charlotte, the parents of four kids, whom they're hoping will manage to make it out of the house someday. The bar doesn't sound like it's especially high there, but therein lies the humor, we hope. The show will get into the heads of the characters in this big family - "four children finding their way to adulthood in these complicated times, and the parents whose lives they're sucking dry to get there."
The mentioned description makes Divide & Conquer sound like a good old-fashioned sitcom, complete with a set of probably-exhausted parents who - from the title anyway - are willing to use whatever means necessary, including manipulation and power strategies, to keep them in line and raise them. The project is written and executive produced by Ocko, whose credits include Fairly Legal, The Office and Pushing Daisies.
While Divide & Conquer is still in the pilot stage, USA has already greenlit two comedies, which they're aiming to get on the air early next year (2014). One is Denis Leary's remake of British series Sirens about a bunch of EMT's in Chicago. And the other is Playing House, a comedy from Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair. Also in the works is a pilot called Love is Dead, about a company that specializes in breaking up relationships on behalf of people who'd rather pay someone else to do the dirty work.
