Scribe scrubs in with Berry

Thesp teams with Nissel on HBO skein

By JOSEF ADALIAN

Berry

Nissel

Halle Berry has teamed with "Scrubs" scribe Angela Nissel to develop an HBO comedy series based on Nissel's two memoirs "The Broke Diaries" and "Mixed: My Life in Black and White."

At the same time, Nissel has inked a one-year overall deal with NBC Universal Television Studio to develop a comedy project for the studio. Pact also covers her work on Touchstone Television's "Scrubs," where she's a consulting producer.

Berry and manager Vincent Cirrincione will exec produce the HBO project. Tentatively dubbed "Mixed Up," single-camera laffer will focus on a biracial woman and her two friends as they tackle racial and financial issues post-college.

"It's about living without the safety net. They're all broke together," Nissel said.

Nissel has already completed a draft of the pilot and expects to turn it in to HBO shortly. If greenlit, it would be the first series order for Berry and Cirrincione who teamed on HBO's Emmy-winning 2005 pic "Lackawanna Blues."

Berry hooked up with Nissel after reading her memoir "The Broke Diaries," which sprang from Nissel's Web site of the same name. Book reveals a number of private details of Nissel's life, including her time working at a strip club and a stint at a mental institution.

Meanwhile he folks at NBC Universal TV worked with Nissel on the upcoming Lifetime skein "Angela's Eyes." Scribe did an uncredited rewrite on the pilot.

NBC Universal TV comedy development chief Shelley McCrory was also familiar with Nissel's work on "Scrubs," as well as "The Broke Diaries."

"We thought there was a good opportunity for her to develop something for us while she's working on 'Scrubs,'" McCrory said. "There's an honest and a very vital quality to her writing. She's got a great voice."

Nissel, repped by WMA, is set to begin her fourth season on "Scrubs" next week.