Fox is continuing to beef up its pilot slate of comedies, ordering two more projects, Variety has learned.
“The Enforcers,” a female buddy cop comedy, hails from writers Sherry Bilsing-Graham and Ellen Kreamer. It centers around two wildly different single mothers with dreams of being police officers who find themselves partnered as inspectors in the Code Enforcement Department. Instead of fighting crime, they have been relegated to handling petty code breaking, like noise complaints, tree trimming and water misuse.
The single-cam, half-hour comedy hails from Warner Bros. TV, with the writing duo serving as exec producers, along with “Modern Family’s” Gail Mancuso, who will direct.
Fox has also ordered an untitled comedy pilot from writer Chris Case. The interracial family sitcom follows Jay “Havoc” Hammond, an African-American, ex-NFL lineman who recently moved in with his white wife and her two oddball sons. The potential series will center around him struggling to win the most challenging game of his life: fatherhood.
The single-cam, half-hour sitcom hails from 20th Century Fox TV. Case will serve as an EP, along with Chris Spencer, Evan Silverberg, Daniel Rappaport and Malcolm D. Lee, who is attached as director.
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Both of the projects are consistent with what is expected to be seen in TV for the 2016-17 season: more diversity. With a comedy centering around two women and another around an interracial family, Fox is clearly looking to continue its diversified programming, following the success of “Empire.” So far, the network’s pilots include a “24” reboot with an African-American lead in “Straight Outta Compton” star Corey Hawkins, plus a girl-group music drama from “Empire’s” Lee-Daniels, which will star Queen Latifah.
Other comedy pilots in contention at Fox include a workplace sitcom from writer Laurel Steinel that is topped by a female character; “The Mick,” from scribes John Chernin and Dave Chernin, which also revolves around a female central character; and a time travel sitcom from Julius Sharpe, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, which is an early favorite at the network.
