“Those Who Can’t,” the sitcom pilot from Denver-based comedy trio The Grawlix, is back from the dead.
Former reality- and documentary-based network truTV, which is in the process of rebranding itself as a humor channel, picked up the rights from Amazon Studios. Amazon commissioned the pilot from Grawlix stand-ups Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl and Ben Roy in 2012.
Despite garnering national media buzz and the highest user ratings of any of Amazon’s first wave of original programming, Amazon Studios declined to pick up “Those Who Can’t” in 2013.
“My manager and agents keep reminding me how rare this is,” Roy said. “Nobody ever gets a do-over on a pilot.”
Set in Denver at the fictional James Buchanan High School, Cayton-Holland, Orvedahl and Roy play a band of inept teachers who interact with students and other teachers in embarrassing and ridiculous ways.
While the Amazon pilot was shot in Denver, the truTV pilot is being cast and shot in Los Angeles during the first two weeks of December for financial and logistical reasons. Denver filmmaking duo the Nix Bros., who directed the Amazon pilot, will return for the truTV version after beating out a number of veteran directors for the position.
“It’s going to be a real, big-budget production,” Roy said. “With our very own craft-services table!”
The Grawlix members declined to say how much truTV paid for the show, but Amazon originally paid $50,000 to shoot the first pilot.
“In TV terms, it was a deal,” Orvedahl said of the purchase price.
truTV is owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner.
Cayton-Holland and Roy also told The Post they are developing a show for Comedy Central with “Comedy Bang! Bang!” host Scott Aukerman. A name and production date for that show has not been finalized.
The Grawlix members will act as executive producers on “Those Who Can’t.” Thank You, Brain! Productions, whose co-founders Krysia Plonka and Tracey Baird have worked on such HBO series as “Mr. Show” and “Flight of the Conchords,” will be the executive producer.
Josh Lieberman, Cayton-Holland’s manager, and Michael Rotenberg of 3 Arts Entertainment (“Louie,” “The Mindy Project”) also will act as executive producers. Eric Slovin, a former “Saturday Night Live” writer, will be showrunner and a co-executive producer with Rich Korson (“The Daily Show”), who has an overall deal with truTV.
There’s no firm date for approving or rejecting “Those Who Can’t” for a series, but the Grawlix members expect a quick turnaround.
“It’s cool that we’re a comedy team from Denver doing this,” Cayton-Holland said. “We’re like a band going into the studio and the Nix Bros. are our producers.”
Originally Published: December 5, 2014 at 4:02 AM MST
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