ABC Scraps Planned Sitcom Starring Two Comedy Legends After Viewing Pilot

The '90s might not be making a comeback. The previously announced sitcom starring Alec Baldwin and Kelsey Grammer has been passed over by ABC and is being shopped elsewhere. The show was made by Modern Family creators Chris Lloyd and executive producer Vali Chandrasekaran and was originally given a straight-to-series order with a plan for the half-hour comedy to hit the 2021-2022 television season.

According to the original logline, the multi-camera series followed three men (Baldwin, Grammer, and Ugly Betty's Alec Mapa) "who were roommates in their 20s until their warring egos drove them apart. Now, the trio is reuniting decades later for one more run at the lives they've always wanted." However, Variety reports that after viewing the pilot, ABC decided to pass on the project.

Grammer recently signed on for Paramount+'s upcoming Frasier reboot, where he will play his iconic character, Frasier Crane, again after nearly 20 years. "Having spent over 20 years of my creative life on the Paramount lot, both producing shows and performing in several, I'd like to congratulate Paramount+ on its entry into the streaming world," Grammer said when the series was officially announced. "I gleefully anticipate sharing the next chapter in the continuing journey of Dr. Frasier Crane."

Baldwin was most recently seen portraying former President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, a job that Baldwin was happy to relinquish after Trump lost the election in 2020. "I don't believe I've ever been this overjoyed to lose a job before!" he tweeted following the news of Trump's defeat.

Baldwin, who recently welcomed his sixth child with his wife Hilaria Baldwin (he also shares daughter Ireland Baldwin with ex-wife Kim Basinger), long had a complicated relationship with the role, telling USA Today in 2019 "I can't imagine I would do it again. I just can't. They should find somebody who wants to do it." However, the 30 Rock actor backtracked the very next day, citing his friendship with SNL boss Lorne Michaels.

"I get sick of [appearing as Trump] and I've whined about it regularly, because in the zeitgeist I'm a pretty political person and where I would normally put that energy is in voter registration, to work with MoveOn.org, to get involved in an actual candidacy and get more into that," he told TV Line. "But Lorne [Michaels] is my dear friend and [SNL] is like another home to me, so if they want me to do it, I probably will." We'll see if this project can find a new home elsewhere so these sitcom mainstays can share the screen together.