TV Land started life as a way to watch former Nick at Nite programming, morphing into the network that spunoff a Betty White sitcom, and it has slowly entered uncharted territory with more upcoming original shows than it’s currently running. Two single-camera comedies were just ordered to series, and TV Land has two potential goldmines here with the stolen identity sitcom Impastor and Teachers, which is based upon a sketch troupe’s webseries of the same name. We’re hoping for at least one show to have a Betty White cameo by the end of the 10-episode first season.
Created by writer/producer Christopher Vane (Wings, Good Luck Charlie), Impastor is the kookier of the two, and stars Smallville’s Michael Rosenbaum as man-on-the-run Buddy Dobbs. An unmotivated pot-smoking gambler, Dobbs is fearful for his life as he’s evading a loan shark. He ends up in a small town and steals the identity of the new gay pastor, but instead of stealing more than just the identity, he realizes that he has a better life there than he did before, and that people actually like him. Sara Rue (Rules of Engagement) plays his assistant, and the show also stars Aimee Garcia (Dexter), Mircea Monroe (Episodes), David Rasche (Rubicon) and Mike Kosinski. Take a look at the cast below.
Teachers will be focused on six elementary school instructors who are well-intentioned in trying to set their students in the direction of success, but their own lives aren’t exactly good source material for their disciplinary techniques. One of the teachers makes the kids play “Statue Game” when she has a hangover, because it only requires the kids to quietly stand still. One of them teaches the child of a former bully, which grants her a strange opportunity. And so on. The teachers are played by the Katydids troupe, comprised of Caitlin Barlow, Katy Colloton, Cate Freedman, Kate Lambert, Katie O'Brien, and Katie Thomas. Check out a smashcut of their skits below.
Even though some of the Teachers jokes feel slightly easy, for lack of a better word, I’m definitely not against seeing more of this kind of humor on a network that I rarely turn to. Beyond the talented ladies at its forefront, this series has a pair of excellent showrunners in Upright Citizens Brigade alum Ian Roberts and Key & Peele writer/producer Jay Martel, with Community’s Alison Brie producing. Impastor, meanwhile, has Two and a Half Men executive producers Eric and Kim Tannenbaum on its side. Such an on-the-nose title usually connotes a goofier than thou series, but I’m willing to see if it has a prayer before dumping on it.
Impastor and Teachers will debut on TV Land in 2015.
