Kal Penn may have made a name for himself on the big screen, with roles in comedies like Van Wylder and the Harold and Kumar films, but it seems he’s looking to continue on the small screen. The actor has been cast in
With roles in 24, House and most recently, How I Met Your Mother, Penn seemed to be sticking to established TV series, but that appears to be changing. According to Deadline, Penn has signed on to star in an ABC comedy pilot called Prairie Dogs. The title is apparently a reference to office-life for people in cubicles (presumably popping their heads up to see what’s going on outside the confines of their partitions). Penn’s character Neil is a guy who works at “one of the coolest companies in the world” though Neil is described as “uncool.” When he becomes the victim of identity theft, he soon learns that the person who has taken his identity has created a much better life with it, so Neil seeks the person out. I’m pretty sure that’s the premise of a Friends episode (“The One With the Fake Monica”). Regardless, it definitely sounds like a set up on which to build a series (possibly with some buddy-comedy/Odd Couple elements?).
If you’re up to date on How I Met Your Mother (and if you’re not, stop reading here!), then you know that Penn’s character Kevin recently proposed to Robin (repeatedly), but after Robin admitted that she couldn’t have children, and then went on to tell him that she doesn’t want children, the two ended it. It seemed pretty final, so Penn’s casting isn’t all that much of a surprise. In fact, it’s good news. It’ll be interesting to see who is cast to play the identity thief, and of course, whether or not ABC decides to move forward with this one.
