HBO to Pass on Patti LuPone's PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY Pilot

Back in October, BWW reported that Broadway vet Patti LuPone had signed on for Lorne Michael's HBO pilot PEOPLE IN NEW JERSEY. The actress was to join Sarah Silverman and Topher Grace on the half-hour comedy project from Girls scribe Bruce Eric Kaplan. Bridesmaids's Paul Feig was to pen, direct and executive produce.

Now, Deadline reports that the cable network has decided not to move forward with the project which was described as "a hilarious, poignant look at life today as seen through the prism of a brother and sister living in New Jersey. They each struggle to get through the day, asking themselves the big questions, little questions and everything in between."

LuPone was set to play Rachel, a widowed mother of two who "focuses a lot of her energy on worrying about her children and why neither has settled down in a relationship. Rachel is all opinions. Both her kids have a habit of blurting out whatever it is they are thinking and clearly, they got this from her."

The actress has been a fixture on television of late, with guest appearances on HBO's Girls and FX's American Horror Story: Coven. She has appeared in guest spots on Army Wives, 30 Rock and Frasier, for which she won an Emmy nomination as a guest actress.

LuPone won Tony Awards for her role as Eva Peron in 1979's Evita and as Mama Rose in 2008's Gypsy: A Musical Fable. She will soon be seen on the new season of FX's American Horror Story: Coven and has appeared on the small screen in

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski