Always Sunny execs land Fox comedy pilot

L-R: Glen Howerton, Rob McElhenney and Charlie Day in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

US broadcast network Fox has ordered a comedy pilot set in Middle America from the team behind FX hit It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

The untitled multi-camera show, which is being written by Rob McElhenney and Rob Rosell, follows a woman who attempts to raise a family with her former husband and his new wife.

20th Century Fox Television is producing, with McElhenney and Rosell attached as executive producers alongside It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia trio Nick Frenkel, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton. The latter pair and McElhenney all star in Always Sunny, which was confirmed for 13th and 14th seasons in 2016.

The new show, which continues Fox’s strategy of developing shows off-cycle, joins Cool Kids on the network’s pilot slate, which is also from McElhenney, Day, Howerton and Frenkel.

It also marks another attempt by US networks to tap into Middle American audiences, following the success of the reboot of Roseanne for ABC.

In related news, Fox has renewed its music drama Empire, produced by 20th Century Fox Television, for a fifth season.