Milwaukee brewers
Kurland taps comic's roots for ABC laffer
Kurland is writing a sitcom loosely based on Henry's roots as a working-class guy from Milwaukee. The laffer comes from Touchstone Television and the Greenblatt-Janollari Studio.
Kurland and Henry will exec produce, along with Bob Greenblatt and David Janollari.
Heartland view
"We always loved Scott's point of view, his Midwestern guy, middle-of-the-country perspective," said Greenblatt, himself a Midwestern native (Rockford, Ill.). "I totally understand who his parents are, where he comes from. We took the project to Seth Kurland, who we're all fans of, and they immediately hit it off."
Henry will star as a 32-year-old who works at a Milwaukee tool-and-die company until he's downsized. He then decides to start his own company, where he meets a woman who ends up as a potential love interest.
In real life, Henry was an employee at Milwaukee's Ehlart Tool & Die before following his foreman's advice and trying his hand at a local comedy club.
Close to life
"I wanted to make this show as much of a parallel to my life as possible," Henry said. "This is probably about me six years ago. It's a show about regular people, like my dad, who's the kind of guy who thinks things should stay the way they are."
Henry, who's repped by ICM and 3 Arts, had a development deal at ABC last season. Kurland most recently was a consulting producer on the pilot to ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter."
Kurland, who's repped by Endeavor, also created the Hank Azaria laffer "Imagine That" for NBC. He spent many years on "Friends," penning memorable scripts such as the season-five opener "The One After Ross Says Rachel."
Kurland's other credits include "Mad About You" and "Weird Science."
