'Broke': Everything We Know About Pauley Perrette's New CBS Show

'Broke'

Broke sports a premise that is familiar in some ways, yet innovative in others. It revolves around a single mom named Jackie (Perrette), and her son Sammy (Antonio Raul Corbo). Living alone and struggling to make end's meet, the two are greeted with unexpected visitors: Jackie's sister Elizabeth (Natasha Leggero), her husband Javier (Jaime Camil) and their assistant Louis (Izzy Diaz).

As it turns out, Javier's parents have cut him off from their considerable fortune, leaving him and Elizabeth with nowhere to turn. They end up crashing with Jackie, leading to a whole host of issues in family, class and wealth.

The show comes at a time when the media is rife with commentary on wealth disparity and "personal bubbles," and Broke appears poised to tackle these topics as well. So far, it seems clear that Jackie works as a bartender, but it is not clear how the others make their living.

Trailer

The full-length trailer for Broke gives fans an extensive breakdown of what is coming. In three minutes it introduces all of the main characters and the dynamics between them, giving a clear idea of the ride the show will take viewers on. It promises a self-contained pilot episode with lots of room for the story to grow from there.

Natasha Leggero

Perrette may not be known for comedy, but her co-star Natasha Leggero is. The comedian hails from Illinois, and has appeared in acclaimed TV and movies over the last decade or so. Her best known credits include films like The Do-Over, Let's Be Cops and He's Just Not That Into You, as well as TV series like Another Period, Historical Roasts and BoJack Horseman.

Leggero is married to comedian Moshe Kasher, with whom she shares one child as well. Both are frequent guests in the world of celebrity podcasts, where they talk about everything from life in Hollywood to their unique brand of relationship advice.

Jaime Camil

On-screen however, Leggero will be married to Javier, played by Jaime Camil. The actor has a lauded career in both the U.S. and south American TV. His best-known work has been as Rogelio De La Vega on Jane the Virgin.

Camil's voice may strike a familiar chord with younger viewers, who have heard him on many animated classics. He lent his voice to Disney Pixar's Coco, as well as Hotel Transylvania 3 and The Secret Life of Pets 2.

Izzy Diaz

The actor behind Louis, too, is a TV veteran of the highest order. Over the years, Izzy Diaz has had appearances on shows like Lost, New Girl, Barry and even NCIS along with Perrette. He has had small parts and large ones, ranging across multiple years at times.

Here, his mysterious characters warrants at least a little explanation, as shown in the trailer.

Alex Herschlag

Finally, it is worth noting the writer and showrunner weaving this tale as well. Broke is far from Alex Herschlag's first outing as a writer and a producer. He worked for many years on Will & Grace — both the original run and the more recent reboot. He also worked on Modern Family, as well as Ellen DeGeneres' sitcom in the late 1990s.

Development Timeline

Broke first came into the public consciousness in February, when CBS gave the show a pilot order. Industry watchers were intrigued by the line-up, especially as CBS is likely looking for a multi-cam sitcom to match the success of The Big Bang Theory.

Camil was one of the first main cast members announced at the time. It wasn't until a month later that Perrette was attached to the project, and after that, Leggero. This star-studded line-up made the project all the more promising, as mysterious as it still was at the time.

Broke got its official series order in May. At the time, CBS also announced that the show would premiere at the mid-season mark, rather than the fall. Broke joins the TV line-up in the winter of 2020.

Confidence

CBS executives spoke adoringly about broke at the upfronts presentation back in May. There, Camil and Leggero made an appearance as well, though Perrette backed out at the last minute due to a sudden illness.

"We are so excited to be a part of the CBS family and can't wait to share the show with you," Camil said.

Previously, Camil had gushed about the opportunity to work with Perrette in a series of posts on Twitter.

"Words can't describe how happy and blessed I feel to be sharing the screen with you [Perrette]," he wrote. "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 at the time.

Broke will join the CBS line-up at the midseason mark, sometime in early 2020.