‘This Is Us’ Star’s New Series Passed on by ABC

Chris Sullivan’s comedy pilot The Son in Law will not be airing on ABC. TV Line reports the network passed on the show, which was set to revolve around Jake (Sullivan), a divorced, working-class plumbing contractor, and his 21-year-old daughter. Jake finds new love with a woman named Asha, who is South Asian royalty — against the approval of her controlling parents. Also starring in the show was Reema Sampat, Meera Simhan, Evangeline Young, Anupam Kher, and Robert Bailey Jr. Ajay Saghal, Jake Kasdan and Melvin Mar were producers. 

Sullivan played the role as Toby Damon on This Is Us. The show wrapped after six seasons. He has also starred in The Knick, Stranger Things, Camping, and, the Disney+ animated series What If…? His next role is in the David E. Kelley crime drama The Missing, which will debut on Peacock on Nov. 10.

While Sullivan’s show is on hold for the moment until it finds a new home, his This Is Us co-star has better luck. Justin Hartley will star in CBS’s The Never Game. The series is a drama series adaptation of Jeffery Deaver’s novel.

The order was first picked up in Sept. 2021. Due to Hartley’s commitment to the final season of This Is Us, The Never Game was pushed back. There was also a change in the writer, with Ben Winters replacing Michael Cooney. Winters’ script was delivered to CBS in mid-July and was very well received by the network. As a result, it’s been fast-tracked to production.