Damon Wayans & Damon Wayans Jr. Sitcom Receives Pilot Order From CBS

CBS has ordered its first sitcom pilot for the 2023-2024 broadcast season, and it's a new sitcom project that will star Damon Wayans and his son, Damon Wayans Jr., per The Hollywood Reporter. The currently untitled show is a multi-camera sitcom project that will have the real-life father and son duo playing a father and son duo in the television world as well.

As previously reported by The Blast, word on the development of the project emerged several months ago. Now the show has received a pilot order from CBS, so it will go in front of the cameras.

The upcoming project is being co-written by Ken Hency, the former showrunner of "Last Man Standing, and Wayans Sr. CBS Studios is producing the project. It will revolve around a happily divorced talk radio host, "Poppa," portrayed by Wayans Sr., who will have his viewpoints challenged at work when he's assigned a new female co-host. Meanwhile, at home, Poppa is still parenting his adult son (Wayans Jr.), a brilliant dreamer who is trying to pursue his passions while also being a responsible father and husband.

Kameron Tarlow is overseeing the pilot for Two Shakes Entertainment, the production company he started with Wayans Jr. The company is based at CBS Studios with an overall deal.

The sitcom pilot order is the first half-hour comedy series ordered by CBS for the network's next upcoming broadcast seasons under the network's new regime headed by entertainment president Amy Reisenbach. Other shows that have already been picked up include a reboot of "Matlock," starring Oscar-winner Kathy Bates, and "Elsbeth," starring Carrie Preston. Another picked-up drama is "The Never Game," starring Justin Hartley of "Smallville" fame, which was previously developed last season.

Now seems to be a good time to go with a multicamera sitcom format. The revival of "Night Court" is doing well at NBC, and the network already renewed the show for a second season early in its run. Also, Netflix has already renewed "That '90s Show," a continuation of the popular sitcom "That '70s Show," for a second season as well.

The new sitcom pilot won't be the first time the father and son duo have worked together, portraying father and son in a sitcom television series. Wayans and Wayans Jr. have played father and son before on the short-lived CBS sitcom, "Happy Together." Wayans also portrayed his son's father in the ABC show, "Happy Endings," which ran for three seasons and 57 episodes.

The elder Wayans also created the previous sitcom, "My Wife & Kids," which ran for five seasons and 123 episodes on ABC. Wayans Jr. did have a recurring role in the series in its later seasons. The new sitcom project marks a big return for Wayans writing and creating a sitcom. He also created the animated series, "Waynehead," that aired on Kids' WB in the 1990s. The show was inspired by Wayans' own life and upbringing in the Chelsea neighborhood in New York City.

THR notes that additional pilot orders for comedy shows from CBS are expected in the weeks ahead.