CBS Orders 2 Promising Comedy Pilots

CBS has ordered pilots for two promising new comedy series — The Smart Ones and Middle Class Murdochs. Both series come from creators Emily Halpern and Sarah Haskins, the writers behind Carol’s Second Act. The shows will both be produced by CBS Studios, according to a report by Deadline.

Halpern and Haskins wrote and executive produced Carol’s Second Act for CBS last year, a comedy about a middle-aged empty nester who decides to pursue her dream career as a doctor in her early 50s. After just one season, the show was canceled, but CBS is still putting plenty of faith in Halpern and Haskins with two more pilot orders. The duo is writing and executive producing The Smart Ones, which is reportedly about two sisters who find themselves living together under circumstances they never imagined. The “smart one” of the family goes to stay with the “screw-up” of the family after falling on hard times, while the “screw-up” actually became successful.

Meanwhile, Halpern and Haskins are executive producing Middle Class Murdochs — a show about a family-owned carpet store in Ohio. When the owner of the store decides to retire, he must decide which of his four adult children will take over in his place.

Middle Class Murdochs is written by Nedaa Sweiss and Jonathan Adler, who worked together as writers on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Both have other lauded credits as well, and Sweiss was the head writer on The Tonight Show until this season. Sweiss and Adler will executive produce Middle Class Murdochs alongside Halpern and Haskins.

So far, the writing credits behind these two series is all that we have to go on, but that’s enough to sell it and then some. Halpern and Haskins wrote the script for Booksmart in 2019 before launching Carol’s Second Act, which had a dedicated following despite its swift cancellation. The show was lauded for putting a middle-aged woman at the center of the narrative, and, of course, Patricia Heaton’s performance was beloved by fans.

Meanwhile, Sweiss is reportedly writing and executive producing another sitcom at ABC at the same time as Middle Class Murdochs — a series called Real People. She is also a writer on The Drew Barrymore Show. Adler wrote for four years on The Tonight Show and wrote material for Fallon when he hosted the 2017 Golden Globe Awards.

These pilot orders are beginning to show the shape of the CBS lineup to come as the network continues to experiment following the grand finale of its juggernaut series The Big Bang Theory. So far, there is no word on when these new shows go into production.