USA Picks Up Nathan Lane's Untitled Comedy Series

As USA closes out its biggest summer ever with a sixth straight win as #1 in cable, the network delivers on its commitment to expand its ambitious programming slate with the cast-contingent green light of two comedy pilots, the UNTITLED Douglas McGrath PROJECT and PAGING DR. FREED. 

UNTITLED Douglas McGrath PROJECT (aka ON WE GO) is a half-hour single camera comedy about an unlucky actor whose Broadway aspirations must be put on hold when he returns to his Texas hometown upon his father's health taking a turn for the worse. Two-time Emmy(R) winning actor Nathan Lane ("The Birdcage," "The Producers") will serve as executive producer and is in negotiations to star. Academy Award(R)-nominee Douglas McGrath ("Bullets Over Broadway," "Emma," "I Don't Know How She Does It") will write and executive produce the pilot from Universal Cable Productions.

Lane is best known for his roles as Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and his voice work in The Lion King and Stuart Little. In 2008, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. He most recently starred on Broadway in The Addams Family.

With a record seven series on air this summer, including the successful launches of two new hit original series, USA celebrated its biggest summer ever and captured its sixth straight summer win. Freshman series SUITS and NECESSARY ROUGHNESS are among two of the top three new cable shows of the summer, with USA holding seven of the top 10 basic cable scripted series.

Universal Cable Productions creates quality content across multiple media platforms, including USA, Syfy and other networks. A leader in innovative and critically acclaimed programming, UCP is the studio behind USA's "Royal Pains," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Psych," "In Plain Sight," "Covert Affairs," "Fairly Legal" and "Suits," along with Syfy's "Eureka," "Warehouse 13" and "Alphas." The studio is also producing "Against the Wall" for Lifetime and "I Just Want My Pants Back" for MTV. UCP is a division of NBCUniversal.

Fox 21 is a Production Company housed within Twentieth Century Fox Television devoted to making creatively ambitious scripted series for the cable television market, as well as unscripted shows for both cable and broadcast networks. Fox 21, led by President Bert Salke, currently co-produces the award-winning cable smash "Sons of Anarchy" as well as the upcoming suspense thriller "Homeland" starring Claire Danes, and the animated comedy "Brickelberry" from Daniel Tosh.

USA Network is the #1 network in all of basic cable and is seen in over 102 million U.S. homes. A division of NBC Universal, USA is the cable television leader in original series and home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, acquired television series and entertainment events. The award-winning USA website is located at www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.

USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos