Here Comes Mike Judge to ABC

Zap2It.com | February 8, 2008

Mike Judge

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'King of the Hill' co-creator sells new series

ABC has picked up an animated series from "King of the Hill" co-creator Mike Judge, even though not a word has been written yet.

The network has ordered 13 episodes of an animated comedy called "The Goode Family" from Judge ("Office Space," "Idiocracy") and fellow "Hill" veterans John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky. The show is being produced by Media Rights Capital, which recently signed an interim deal with the Writers Guild that will allow scripting on the show to begin.

It hasn't yet, however -- ABC bought the show based on a pitch, the showbiz trade papers report. In a normal year, that would be a pretty rare occurrence, but the writers' strike is causing networks to shake up the way they order new product.

"The Goode Family" will tell the story of a family that's obsessed with doing the right thing, politically, socially and otherwise. It being a comedy, their good intentions tend to have unforeseen consequences.

As he does on "King of the Hill," Judge will also provide voices for some of the characters on "The Goode Family."

ABC's recent history with prime-time animation has been spotty, to say the least. The network last tried its hand at the genre with "Clerks," which lasted only a few weeks in the summer of 2000; prior to that, it aired the first season of "The Critic" in 1994-95.