CBS Officially Greenlights Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s TV Show Pilot
The Good Will Hunting gods have spoken and the heavens have opened; Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s comedy pilot called More Time With The Family was officially ordered by CBS last week.
CBS nabbed the series when it was pitched late last year, and it was reportedly one of the highest-profile comedy packages of the season. The comedy will star Tom Papa, who worked with Damon on two films, The Informant and HBO’s Behind The Candelabra. The show essentially follows a husband and father (Papa) who takes time away from his job to spend with his family. According to Deadline, the sitcom is a multi-camera comedy based on Papa’s stand-up acts and Damon’s personal experiences.
Cue Ben Affleck! Damon and Affleck are teaming as executive producers on the show, and brought on Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith—of The King of Queens—as lead writers. 20th Century Fox is producing. Affleck and Damon will executive produce through their film production company Pearl Street Films, which will be the company’s second TV nab this year; Pearl Street is also producing Affleck’s crime drama The Middle Man, which was picked up by FOX.
As for The Middle Man, FOX has put a temporary delay on production due to Affleck’s unavailability in terms of directing. But really, this surprises nobody considering Affleck is literally involved in every high-profile project put on the map last year (co-writing a Whitey Bulger bio-pic with Damon, starring in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, and casually playing the next Batman are just among his thousands of jobs). FOX is rumored to either seek out a new director this spring, or wait until Affleck is finished with his demanding commitments to Batman (shooting begins early this year).
