'Starter Wife' star, writers reteam for comedy

Former "Will & Grace" star and Emmy winner Debra Messing is headed back to NBC for a new comedy.

The show will star Messing as a CEO who loses her job and finds her self badly prepared to take up the day-to-day responsibilities of looking after her kids, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Likewise, her husband isn't quite ready to be the primary earner.

NBC won the rights to the show after outbidding ABC. The network offered a script commitment and "episodic guarantee" for Messing, the trade paper says.

Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott, who worked with Messing on "The Starter Wife" on USA, will once again team with the star and write the pilot script. All three will be executive producers, along with Molly Madden, Stephanie Davis and Howard Klein of production company 3 Arts.

USA's miniseries "The Starter Wife" drew strong ratings in 2007 and earned Messing an Emmy nomination. Its transition to a weekly series last fall was less successful, and the cable channel canceled it after a 10-episode run.