‘2 Broke Girls’ Alum Beth Behrs Takes Lead Role in Fox’s New Pilot

Beth Behrs, one of the lead characters in 2 Broke Girls, has accepted a lead role in the Fox pilot Our People.

The show was announced in mid-January, along with rest of the network‘s new orders. It revolved around a man from a big family of African immigrants, and his new fiance, who comes from a big family in the mid-west. The two will face all the issues, big and small, that come with merging two such disparate groups, and the common ground between them.

Behrs has reportedly been cast as Jenny, the mid-western girl from a prototypical conservative family. According to a report by Variety, she joins Lea Thompson, who was recently announced to be playing her mother. No other cast members have been announced yet, and the producers still need to fill the vital role of Abel, Jenny’s intrepid fiance.

The show is written by Vali Chandrasekaran, who co-executive produced Modern Family. Before that, he worked as a writer and producer on 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, Trophy Wife and Mixology. He also made a cameo in The Office. In season 3, episode 6, Chandrasekaran appears as Wali during Kelly’s familys Diwali celebration.

If the show takes off, it would be great news for Behrs, who just left her starring role on 2 Broke Girls after six seasons. The show was cancelled last year. Behrs has secured guest appearances on other shows, including The Big Bang Theory, NCIS: Los Angeles and Castle, but getting another steady job in the main cast of a TV show would be huge for the actress.

Behrs has also done some feature film work recently. She was cast in the Sally Field film Hello, My Name Is Doris, and also voiced a character in Disney Pixar’s Monsters University.

Our People has generated a lot of interest, as its subject matter is a bit of a minefield in the U.S., where immigration policy has been shifting in the last two years. It’s a risky premise, but the network has put its full support behind Chandrasekaran.

Fox’s only other single-camera comedy order for the season is starkly different from Our People. From the executive producers of Last Man Standing, Dan the Weatherman will follow a meteorologist who recently lost his job. Desperate for employment, he accepts a job at the local Spanish-language TV station.

Fox’s culture-clash theme comes just as the network prepares to merge with Disney in one of the largest corporate acquisitions in entertainment history. It’s also the first batch of pilot orders for Fox Entertainment’s new president, Michael Thorn.