When Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here Kickstarter campaign surpassed its goal of $2 million back three years ago, it seemed to mark a disturbing trend of Braff’s continuing directorial efforts—oh, and of millionaires crowdfunding their passion projects rather than actually try to sell a studio on them. But those fears were for naught, because Braff is back on the network teat, as Deadline reports the actor’s nabbed a put-pilot commitment from ABC for a new comedy.
Start Up is the current title for the project, but that will have to change now that Crackle’s beaten the show to market. The inspiration for the series is former This American Life producer Alex Blumberg’s StartUp podcast, which actually offers fairly practical advice to budding entrepreneurs. But because watching Braff work on his business plan would be even duller than taking in Garden State, he will play a thirtysomething husband and father who upends his family’s lives when he quits his job to wade into the world of start-up businesses. Although frittering away your family’s savings to branch into start-up businesses because you’re bored with your job sounds like a dick move, Braff’s character will probably use the money to fund some filmmaker’s passion project, which will make it all worthwhile.
Braff is directing the pilot, which he’s executive producing with Matt Tarses, who previously worked with Braff’s Scrubs co-star Sarah Chalke on CBS’ Mad Love.