Pauley Perrette's New Series 'Broke': What to Know About the CBS Sitcom

Former NCIS star Pauley Perrette is returning to CBS this fall with Broke, a new sitcom to test out her comedic abilities and co-stars comedian Natasha Leggero and Jane the Virgin star Jaime Camil.

In Broke, Perrette stars as Jackie, a single mother and bartender who is just barely scraping by with her son Milo (Antonio Raul Corbo). Suddenly, her life is upended when her sister Elizabeth (Leggero) shows up with her formerly rich husband Javier (Camil), who hope to move in with her. Javier has also brought along his loyal assistant and friend Luis (Izzy Diaz).

While the class differences between Jackie and Elizabeth might make it tough to live together, their familial bond is still there. Jackie eventually offers to help, and this might be how they fix their broken relationship.

CBS officially picked up the series in May, after news of the project surfaced in March.

The pilot was written by Alex Herschlag, an Emmy winner and veteran of Will & Grace and Modern Family. Victor Gonzalez (George Lopez, Last Man Standing) directed the pilot. The executive producers include Heschlag, Jennie Snyder Urman (Jane the Virgin), Joanna Klein, Ben Silverman, Jaime Camil, Guillermo Restrepo, Gonzalo Cilley and Maria Lucia Hernandez. It is a CBS Television Studios production with Sutton Street Productions/Propagate.

On May 15, CBS executives sang their praises for the show at the network's upfront presentation before advertisers in New York. Perrette could not be there because she was sick, Camil said.

"We are so excited to be a part of the CBS family and can't wait to share the show with you," Camil said.
Back when news of the project first surfaced, Camil could not hide how excited he was to work with Perrette.

"Words can't describe how happy and blessed I feel to be sharing the screen with you [Perrette]," the former Jane the Virgin star wrote on Twitter. "Having your talent, personality and beautiful soul in the show makes us sooo happy [praying hands] [smiling face emoji]. Thank you for saying yes to this adventure."
"Brother, [Camil] I went with the nicest most decent people in Hollywood. YOU and the team," Perrette replied.

Broke will be Perrette's first appearance on television since she left NCIS following 15 seasons as forensic scientist Abby Sciuto. She was one of the series' most popular characters, and her heavily-promoted final episode drew 14.8 million viewers.

"Abby's legacy is going to be forever," the actress said in a statement last year. "The effect that she's had around the world, especially in young girls pursuing math and science. There [are] young women out there who've gotten their degrees and are in the field of science and math and forensics because of this TV character."

Unfortunately for Perrette's fans, Broke will not debut until midseason. CBS chose to launch Bob Hearts Abishola, Carol's Second Act, The Unicorn, Evil and All Rise in the fall instead.

Photo credit: Sonja Flemming/CBS