Pilots: Josh Cooke, Will Sasso Are ABC Guys

Zap2It.com | May 29, 2008

Josh Cooke

NBC finds director for 'The Philanthropist'

A pair of ABC comedy pilots about the friendships between guys has found guys to play some of those guys.

Josh Cooke, who starred in the network's "Big Day" a couple seasons back, is joining a show created by "Will & Grace" masterminds Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. "MADtv" alum Sasso, meanwhile, will be part of the ensemble in "Five Year Plan," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Elsewhere, Peter Horton has joined the crew of NBC's midseason show "The Philanthropist."

The Mutchnick-Kohan comedy, which borrows from the details of their own lives, centers on two best friends -- one gay (Alan Tudyk, "Firefly") and one straight (Cooke) -- who are also business partners. Cooke is coming off CBS' comedy pilot "My Best Friend's Girl," which didn't earn a pickup for the coming season. His other credits include NBC's "Committed" and "Four Kings," which Mutchnick and Kohan also created.

Sasso will star opposite Steve Howey ("Reba") and Lee Thompson Young ("Akeelah and the Bee") in "Five-Year Plan," about a group of guys trying to chart their futures. Sasso, who also co-starred on ABC's "Less Than Perfect," will play a man who's jealous of his younger brother and decides to relive his lost youth.

At NBC, meanwhile, Horton will direct and executive produce the pilot for "The Philanthropist," which is undergoing a creative transition. Exec producers Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson left the show last month, and "Battlestar Galactica's" David Eick took their place a couple weeks ago.

Horton directed the pilots for "Grey's Anatomy" and "Dirty Sexy Money" and has served as an executive producer of both shows. He's also helmed episodes of "The Shield" and "Once and Again."