F1 Workplace Comedy Coming To CBS And Fun Foulmouth Guenther Steiner Is Onboard
Formula 1 is still a hot commodity these days. Especially after last weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix brought a lot of attention to the sport. So, if anything is popular, Hollywood wants in on it. There is already a flood of projects in the works. Now, that flood includes a workplace comedy being developed by CBS with the help of none other than Haas team principal Guenther Steiner.
According to Deadline, the network is in the early stages of developing a sitcom set in the sports world with a "Steineresque" (which just became my favorite new adjective) person at the center of it.
Steiner himself will serve as a non-writing executive producer on the project which has yet to find a production studio.
I can't remember the last time I was even remotely enthused by the idea of a new network sitcom. It may have been as far back as Brooklyn Nine-Nine. However, this one has my attention for obvious reasons.
Guenther Steiner is one of the biggest characters in F1 and has been one of the breakout stars of the Netflix documentary series Drive To Survive.
Speaking of Netflix, it kind of surprises me they didn't try to develop something like this, but the truth of the matter is they already tried and it failed.
CBS' Guenther Steiner Series Is Already Avoiding One Of The Pitfalls Of Netflix's NASCAR Sitcom
If you can think back to 2021, you may remember a Kevin James vehicle called The Crew. The featured the King of Queens star as the crew chief of a NASCAR team. The idea was that hilarity would ensue, but ultimately it did not and the show ended after one season.
It's still very early in the development process, but I already think this Guenther Steiner series has more legs than its Netflix counterpart. Why? Because it's supposed to be a single-camera sitcom.
If you don't know what a single-camera sitcom is, think The Office. No studio audience, no laugh track.
Now, a multi-camera sitcom — which is what The Crew was — is more in the vein of Seinfeld, Friends, or All In The Family. That means oftentimes there's a studio audience and/or laugh track.
Multi-camera shows just don't hit with audiences the way they used to. Plus, this idea has a much better chance of working as a single-cam show. It provides more flexibility production-wise since each episode is shot like a mini-movie.
It's good to hear that they're already headed in the right direction.
If and when this project hits the air, I can't guarantee I'll be tuning in every week. However, I can assure you I'll be making sure my plans are clear to catch the pilot.
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