Pilots: NBC Rewinds 'Parenthood'

Zap2It.com | January 29, 2009

Jason Katims

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Ellen Barkin to star in HBO project

The last time NBC tried to turn the feature film "Parenthood" into a TV series, it didn't work. That's not stopping the network from trying again, almost 20 years later.

The network has ordered a pilot for a new take on the project, which "Friday Night Lights" showrunner Jason Katims will write, the showbiz trade papers say. Elsewhere in pilot-land, HBO has picked up a half-hour pilot starring actress Ellen Barkin, and ABC has ordered a comedy called "Threesome."

The "Parenthood" reboot, like its predecessors, will focus on an extended family and the challenges the parents face in raising their children -- although the characters will be new. Katims will executive produce the show with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, who directed and produced the 1989 movie that starred Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen and Keanu Reeves, among others. (The 1990 series featured Ed Begley Jr., Jayne Atkinson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Thora Birch.)

At HBO, Barkin ("Ocean's Thirteen") will star in and produce what would be her first TV series. It's about a recently divorced woman who develops a close (albeit platonic) relationship with her ex-husband's adult son. Shauna Cross (the upcoming "Whip It") wrote the script.

Finally, ABC has given the go-ahead to what's tentatively titled "Threesome," which comes from "Family Guy" and "The Winner" writer Ricky Blitt. The comedy is about a guy who's torn between his new girlfriend and his shlubby best friend.