ABC No Longer Moving Forward On “Forgive & Forget” Comedy Series
Recently it was revealed that ABC was developing a new comedy pilot called “Forgive & Forget”, which was being created by and starring Ty Burrell, who is most known for his role as Phil Dunphy in the hit comedy series, “Modern Family”.
The project was developed by Eugene Garcia-Cross and Robin Shorr, along with 20th Television; the pilot follows the perennial life of the party Hank (Burrell). After an unexpected diagnosis, Hank reconnects with his responsible adult son Ben in hopes of making new memories together.
Unfortunately, it’s been revealed by Deadline that the project will no longer be going ahead as ABC has opted not to proceed with this multi-camera comedy series.
During the production process, the pilot had a few issues, including having the role of the son recast after a table read. While apparently, the pilot was okay and had internal support, the ABC executives ultimately decided that it wasn’t good enough, since their bar is very high.
Another issue with the pilot was the main focus on Alzheimer’s, as it might have been a little darker than expected for a broadcast television comedy show.
While this project will no longer be going ahead at ABC, Ty Burrell is continuing to work with the studio for other suitable projects, as he has an overall deal with Disney.
Roger’s Take: It’s unfortunate that this project isn’t going ahead, as the premise does sound interesting, and it would have been a great opportunity to bring to light the problems with Alzheimer’s on a global stage. But if the pilot wasn’t good enough or had issues, then the right decision probably has been made, Disney can’t afford to waste more money and resources developing something that just isn’t working, moving that to another potential new project.
What do you think of this project not going ahead? Let me know on social media!