A sitcom based on 1986 Tom Hanks-Shelley Long vehicle The Money Pit seemed like an ideal fit for NBC. The network is looking for more comedies to shore up Thursday nights, the show doesn’t involve any original ideas, and the story of a once-impressive mansion that’s now rotting, decrepit, and on the verge of complete collapse is the perfect metaphor for NBC.
Yet, in an even more perfect metaphor, it’s likely the show will not be watched by anyone, as the network is putting the pilot on hold. Producers are citing difficulty finding two leads to stand in for Long and Hanks, though it’s possible they also realized the limits of how many things in a house can break over 100 episodes. (Perhaps when the house’s owners start running out of ideas, they can clear out the entire second floor and turn it over to Jay Leno.)
NBC can at least put one piece of positive spin on the news, which is that it’s ordered so many new comedies, it’ll hardly miss this one. With Craig Robinson’s Mr. Robinson, Canadian import Working The Engels, and the Tina Fey-created Tooken already slated to air, there’s a crowded field of new shows vying to push Parks And Recreation out of its timeslot for weeks.