Television Pilot Adapted From Off-Broadway Play Released on Prime Video
The sitcom is based on Peter Welch's play Don't Tell Mother, which had a successful developmental run at Theater For The New CIty in 2013.
The proof of concept pilot for the television series THE HOUSE ARREST ROONEYS has been released on Amazon Prime TVOD.
The pilot features a host of Broadway Alumni, including Tony Winning Actress Maryann Plunkett (Me And My Girl, The Notebook, A Man For All Seasons, Little Women, Juno And The Paycock), playwright, actor and drag artist extraordinaire Charles Busch (The Tale Of The Allergist Wife, Die Mommie Die, Vampire Lesbians Of Sodom, Ibsen's Ghost, Psycho Beach Party) and veteran television character actor Greg Mullavey (Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Fernwood Forever, iCarly, Rumors, Romantic Comedy). The sitcom is based on Peter Welch's play Don't Tell Mother, which had a successful developmental run at Theater For The New CIty in 2013. The pilot can be watched here.
Described by its creators as a quarantine comedy about justice without peace, the matriarchal dominated show follows the fictional Rooney Family of Albany, NY- a once politically influential, but now splintered clan who are reunited when two of its black sheep members are sentenced to house arrest in the very home they always wanted to escape from- THEIR OWN!
The series' central conflict begins in the play, roughly five years prior to the pilot, when retired high school teacher William Rooney (Greg Mullavey) decides he needs to get away from his wife of forty years- hen pecker maximus Margaret (Charles Busch). So William does what he feels most reasonable men in his situation would do- fakes his death and sets up a new life in Guadalajara. The only problem with this plan is that William never counted on getting lonely. In fact, he gets so lonely that he ultimately makes a clandestine trip back to Albany to get reacquainted with his past. However, when William goes back he gets caught by local authorities; and not only does he get caught, but his black sheep son Paul (Peter Welch) also gets arrested for masterminding the fraud from his basement apartment in New York City. Their arrest not only exposes the faked death, but the million dollar life insurance policy Margaret errantly collected on when William "died." A fact that Magraret is reminded of by her more ethically minded lesbian sister Ellen (Maryann Plunket).
THE HOUSE ARREST ROONEYS picks up here, with the two men being sentenced to home confinement in the pilot's opening scenes. From this point on the series will explore how Margaret, William and Paul cope with their "too close for comfort" reality, both among themselves as well as with their extended family, friends, neighbors and business associates- a culturally diverse set of recent immigrant and longtime resident oddballs led by the pilot's co-executive producer Robert McKay.
The producers of the pilot are using the Amazon Prime release as a catalyst to secure the backing for a full season to be shot in the fall of 2025 and spring of 2026. A full slate of episodes have already been written for season one, which has drawn comparisons to shows like ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, MODERN FAMILY, BLACKISH, THE JEFFERSONS, SOAP & ALL IN THE FAMILY. With these shows in mind, the series aims to join the ranks of top notch, family based comedies, while also adding a new twist to this time honored, ever evolving American tradition.
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