Deadline reports that CBS has bought a new sitcom that inspired by working at Colonial Williamsburg. Though Deadline calls it a "theme park" comedy, I think most people in this community would call Colonial Williamsburg an historical park (or district) rather than a theme park. (The local theme park is Busch Gardens Williamsburg down the road.) But Colonial Williamsburg is definitely part of the themed entertainment business, so that's close enough to talk about it here.
The series is "America, U.S.A." (which also is the name of the fictional park where the series is set) and it is being developed by the husband-and-wife team of Michael Kramer and Lilli Birdsell, with Alex Reid as the director and showrunner. Deadline reported that Birdsell got the idea for the show when researching her role as Martha Washington on the AMC series, "Turn: Washington's Spies." Reid is an Emmy winner former writer for "Malcolm in the Middle" who recently has directed episodes of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine."
It's a single-camera workplace ensemble comedy, so think "Parks and Rec" at a fake Colonial Williamsburg instead of a small-town city hall in Indiana. The show's in development now, so no word on a potential premiere date. But with any major tourist destination providing an endless stream of tourists doing silly, clueless, and outrageous things, the show should have an inexhaustible supply of material, and that's before getting anything from the core characters.
What do you think? Sound like something you'd be interested in watching?
[Thanks to reader TH Creative for the heads-up.]
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OH, IT WOULD SO WORK. . . I ran the Windmill at Colonial Williamsburg for a year. The characters playing the historical characters, the characters that come to visit the historic city and the characters that run the park. . . YES!! Like Parks and Rec 2.0!! I am so in. . .
I think they may or should look at the TPI site to find people doing (posting) silly, clueless, and outrageous things. Hell, my posts alone should provide an inexhaustible supply of material.
Amen TH! - and yes, I will watch this. I was NOT a fan of Colonial Williamsburg....
The concept makes me think of "Disney's America." That concept failed (in part) due to the challenge of making our complicated national history "fun." Hopefully making it "funny" will be easier.
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I think they may (or should) look at your book for possible storylines!