‘Night School’ TV Show Scrapped at NBC

NBC will not be moving forward with the pilot based on the Kevin Hart-led film Night School, Variety reports. It’s unsure the reason as to why the broadcaster is saying no to the half-hour comedy, but as the coronavirus pandemic continues to leave the entertainment industry in disarray, pilot production has seen many changes at various studios.

Originally given a pilot order in January, the pandemic placed pilot shooting on pause in March. The network then said production would resume at a later date in the year, promising Night School would be the first one on its slate to be produced.

Co-written by Hart and Marlon co-creator Christopher Moynihan, the TV show focuses on an unlikely group of adults at a night school GED prep class who unexpectedly bond over their shared experiences and find themselves helping each other inside and outside of the classroom.

The film, which debuted in September of 2018, opened to some success taking home, $27 million in domestic sales on opening weekend and a whopping $103 million worldwide. The cast included Rob Riggle, Tiffany Haddish, Taran Killam, and Romany Malco.

Among the series’ cast was Shanola Hampton, who took over the role played by Haddish in the film, and Josh Segarra, who played the role of Hart’s character. James Earl, Ian Gomez, Joe Massingill, and Collette Wolfe rounded out the cast.

The comedian was attached to executive produce along with Moynihan, Will Packer, and Malcolm D. Lee, who also directed the pilot. Will Packer Media’s Sheila Ducksworth also executive produced while Bryan Smiley and Tiffany Brown oversaw for Hart’s Hartbeat Productions. Universal Television served as the studio.

Hart remains busy with a few projects still in the works. He is scheduled to produce and star in a new film Fatherhood, which is scheduled for a 2021 release, as well as a comedy entitled My Own Worst Enemy. The actor will also reprise his role as Ben Barber in Ride Along 3.

The fate of the other pilots previously scheduled to resume production is yet to be seen. The network was scheduled to resume filming on a number of productions such as Ordinary Joe, Grand Crew, American Auto, and Langdon, which followed the character of the same name made famous by Dan Brown’s novels and Tom Hanks’ films.