The only saving grace at NBC right now is the Thursday night comedy line-up. Community still hasn’t been picked up for a new season, but with The Office, Parks and Recreations, and 30 Rock all coming back the schedule is pretty full. THR is reporting another new comedy pilot to add to the list. The single-camera comedy is titled Friends With Benefits and is written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the guys behind one of my favorite films of the year (500) Days of Summer. The pilot is to be directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers, Fred Claus) and the series “explores modern-day romance through the eyes of five friends each looking for the one but in the meantime settling for friends with benefits.” ABC originally passed and NBC “immediately swooped in and greenlighted a pilot.”
One of the strongest aspects of 500 Days was the way it mixed comedy and drama. I hope the duo can recreate the same tone for TV format. I haven’t enjoyed Community at all, but I’m loving the second season of Parks and Recreations. It’s consistently funnier than The Office, but nothing has touched 30 Rock in terms of laughs each week. No premiere date set is set for Friends With Benefits, but expect it to be in the fall line-up.
Did you like 500 Days of Summer? What do you think about this idea?