Looks like TV might be taking a break from slick rehashes of '70s TV shows and ill-fated projects starring universally reviled pitchmen: NBC and USA Network today announced plans to turn adaptations of recent indie comedies Outsourced and Thank You For Smoking, respectively, into TV pilots. The Office's Ken Kwapis has been tapped for Outsourced, which—like the 2007 movie of the same name—will focus on a Seattle customer service manager sent to India to train a "ragtag" group of call-center employees. (In other words, it'll be like The Office meets Aliens In America meets Northern Exposure—and Sendhil Ramamurthy will not be watching.) The Thank You For Smoking spin-off (soon to be given its own name) will actually pick up where the movie left off, following ex-lobbyist Nick Naylor as he uses his rhetorical skills to help people. "He'll live somewhere between the morally ambiguous character of the movie and Robin Hood," says USA programming chief Jeff Wachtel. Hey, as long he doesn't live anywhere near Katie Holmes' vagina.
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