While NBC continues to stockpile new comedies, Fox had yet to order any half-hour comedies to series until today. Word is, the network has given series orders to threw new comedies, two of which could give us some major hints as to where things are going for certain characters on current TV shows (The Office and How I Met Your Mother). In that respect, consider yourselves somewhat spoiler-warned.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Fox has given series orders to comedy pilots Ned Fox is My Manny, Goodwin Games and Mindy. As Goodwin Games stars Becki Newton, does that mean things are on their way out for Barney and his stripper-girlfriend Quinn? If so, that's bad news as she seems like a perfect fit for Barney. On the bright side, it's great news for fans of Newton. Things didn't work out so well for Love Bites at NBC, but hopefully the former Ugly Betty star will find better success on this comedy at Fox. Meanwhile, Mindy is created by and stars Mindy Kaling, which likely means Kelly Kapoor is on her way out of The Office (assuming the NBC comedy returns next year, which I'm thinking it will). Again, that's bad news for the character, but great news for Kaling.
Here are the three comedies moving forward at Fox:
Mindy - Kaling stars in the comedy in a role described as "a young Bridget Jones-type doctor" who's trying to deal with her personal and professional life. I like to think that Kaling's character's profession was chosen, at least in part, by how becoming scrubs are for her (see: No Strings Attached). The Office's Howard Klein and BJ Novak (who also plays Ryan on The Office) are set to executive produce. (Does that mean Ryan's on the way out too?) Speaking of The Office, Ed Helms is set to guest-star in the pilot episode. The rest of the cast includes Ed Weeks, Chris Messina, Anna Camp, Zoe Jarmon and Dana DeLorenzo.
Goodwin Games - Written by How I Met Your Mother's Carter Bays, Craig Thomas and Chris Harris, the comedy stars Becki Newton, Scott Foley and Jake Lacy who play siblings who inherit a large sum of money from their late father but have to agree to his terms. It sounds like a fun project and as a fan of both Newton and Foley, I'm interested to see how they do as brother and sister. Jake Lacy was among the cast of the short-lived Better With You.
Ned Fox Is My Manny - Created by Dana Fox (and inspired by her brother Ben), this single-camera comedy has Dakota Johnson playing a single mom whose brother moves in with her to be the nanny (or "manny"). Johnson's recent credits include The Five-Year Engagement and 21 Jump Street, but you may remember her as Amelia, the girl who explained Facebook to Justin Timberlake's character Sean Parker in The Social Network. It wasn't a big part, but it was amusing and memorable enough to be worth mentioning. It should be interesting to see who she handles a starring role in a TV show.
