Terry Crews will star in the CBS comedy pilot based on the “JumpStart” comic strip, Variety has learned.
The multi-cam pilot was originally ordered at CBS in February. The official logline states that the show “follows Joe (Crews), a cop, his wife Marcy, a nurse, and Joe’s partner Crunchy. Joe and Marcy are young, hip, urban parents with old school values who are willing to sacrifice for their kids and have some laughs while doing it!”
The character Joe is further described as “a devoted husband , son, father and Philadelphia police officer. He is also a proud Black man and often feels pressured to be flawless in each of his roles, especially in light of controversies surrounding cops. He is a charming and exuberant role model in his community. Joe loves his wife and family, but does come up short in hilarious and endearing ways that keep audiences cheering for him.”
The role would mark a return to playing a police officer for Crews, as he previously played Sgt. Terry Jeffords throughout the eight-season run of the NBC comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” He currently hosts the NBC competition series “America’s Got Talent.” His other TV acting roles include “Everybody Hates Chris,” and “Are We There Yet?,” while his film roles include the “Expendables” franchise as well as “Idicoracy,” “Sorry to Bother You,” and “White Chicks.”
He is repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, UTA, Jill Fritzo PR and Yorn Levine Barnes.
The pilot hails from writer and executive producer Wayne Conley. Aaron Kaplan and Melanie Frankel of Kapital Entertainment also executive produce along with Bridget McMeel of Andrews McMeel Entertainment and Wendi Trilling of TrillTV. Robb Armstrong, the creator of “JumpStart,” will co-executive produce. Phill Lewis will direct and executive produce the pilot. CBS Studios will produce.
A TV version of the comic has been in the works since at least 2014, when Kapital announced plans to develop a live-action version with 20th Century Fox. This new version of the show was first reported as being in development at CBS in June 2022.
