One of the biggest early success stories of the fall TV season is Last Man Standing's big Season 7 debut on Fox, where it was rescued from cancellation. Now, the network is looking to Last Man Standing creator and former showrunner Jack Burditt to develop a new comedy that takes place within a country music-filled bar in Nashville. I do believe there's a wide audience for that kind of thing.
Jack Burditt's first TV creation after Last Man Standing doesn't have a name yet, and I'm pretty sure Nashville won't be usable for a while. However, we can possibly expect the name of the central watering hole to serve as the show's title. It's described as the kind of place that singers and songwriters frequent in order to achieve their dreams. Or to try to do so, anyway.
Understandably, music isn't the only goal that people have in mind when out for a night on the town. This particular Nashville bar is also one where romances are known to bloom, be they the fleeting kind or the long-lasting kind. Mostly fleeting, though.
Fox granted a put pilot commitment to the new comedy, for which Jack Burditt would serve as writer and executive producer. That's about as close to a pilot order as a new project can get, with the network having to foot some financial penalties if it decides to pass.
Another big name involved in the new comedy is country music star Dierks Bentley. According to Variety, Bentley is attached to the project as an executive producer. While it's not directly stated how Bentley will inform the development process, he will likely have some key insights into giving the show an air of legitimacy. Plus, I'm sure his songwriting talents and music biz connections don't hurt.
By bringing in Dierks Bentley, the currently untitled comedy project is possibly looking to tap into the country music scene in the same ways that the hit drama Empire has utilized hip-hop and rap with its reality-meshing storylines. Whether that means we'll see cameos from real-world music stars or fictionalized iterations, we'll have to wait and see.
Interestingly, this new comedy would is being envisioned as a single-camera production. Though it's mostly interesting given Last Man Standing and The Cool Kids are Fox's Friday night multi-camera comedies that come complete with live audience laughter. Jack Burditt shouldn't be too thrown, though, since he kept busy in recent years on single-cam shows such as Modern Family, Great News and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
In case anyone is worried about Jack Burditt's new project bumping heads with Last Man Standing, fear not. Burditt hasn't actually held an active role on the Tim Allen sitcom in years. He served as the showrunner for the first 13 episodes, and was replaced by Kevin Abbot (who was replaced later by Tim Doyle).
While waiting to hear about what happens with this new project, be sure to watch Last Man Standing every Friday night on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. For all the other shows that will try to tickle your funny bones soon, head to our fall TV premiere schedule.
