JW PRODUCTIONS
JW PRODUCTIONS
You can find stories online about the infamous pilot for THE THICK OF IT, where it is often listed as one of the most highly anticipated series projects that never reached the air. Based on the brilliantly written, bitingly smart BBC series of the same name by Armando Iannucci (VEEP), the American adaptation of THE THICK OF IT boasted a top notch creative team made up of director Christopher Guest (BEST IN SHOW) and writer/EP Mitch Hurwitz (ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT), along with a stellar cast which included Oliver Platt, John Michael Higgins, Henry Winkler, Michael McKean and Rhea Seahorn. So what went wrong? In a word: Everything. The show was rushed into production before the pilot script was finished in order to meet looming pilot season deadlines, and in the end, ABC famously passed on picking up the show in favor of a ‘sitcom’ based on the Geiko Cavemen commercials. At least I got to work with some of my comedy heroes in Guest, Iannucci, and Hurwitz, the latter of whom even spoofed me and my hyper-vigilant script notes when he voiced the character of ‘Jeremy the Hardcore Sci-Fi Fan and Development Executive’ in an episode of Michael Cera’s web series, CLARK AND MICHAEL [link here]. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?