HBO wild for Africa

Bussmann sexes up NGO work

By STEVEN ZEITCHIK

Bussmann

HBO is returning to familiar territory, developing a half-hour comedy about the romantic misadventures of a thirtysomething woman.

This time, however, the setting isn't Gotham but war-torn Africa.

And the main character isn't a relationship columnist but a former teacher who gets more than she bargains for when she leaves behind her husband in the U.S. to work for an NGO in Africa. Exact country is still to be determined.

Jane Bussmann, a former "South Park" writer, is penning the show.

As-yet-untitled skein will feature the do-gooders and opportunists the teacher encounters -- as well as an unlikely selection of attractive male suitors.

"She has come to hug kids and be a good person, but it's not easy to be a good person when you're surrounded by both extremely hot colleagues and war crimes," Bussmann said.

Project is in early development; no producers have come aboard yet.

Bussmann is a former journalist who moved to Uganda ostensibly to pursue a freelance career but mostly, she says, to track down an attractive peace activist. Show is based on her own experiences with NGO workers, a group she describes as being "50% heroes and 50% villains."

Despite the envelope-pushing nature of the humor, Bussmann said she will make sure not to cross certain lines. "I'm not making jokes about child soldiers," she said. "I'm making jokes about some of the people who go to help child soldiers."