Showtime pilots Bayer comedy

US network Showtime has ordered a pilot for a comedy series starring former Saturday Night Live cast member Vanessa Bayer.

Vanessa Bayer

Big Deal is a half-hour series inspired by Bayer’s life, in which the actress and comedian plays a character who overcame childhood leukaemia to achieve her lifelong dream of landing a job as a host on shopping channel QVC.

Produced by Showtime, Bayer co-created the series with Jeremy Beiler (Saturday Night Live). The pair will exec produce alongside Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, Jordana Mollick, Jessi Klein (Inside Amy Schumer) and Michael Showalter (The Big Sick). Klein will also serve as showrunner, while Showalter will direct.

“Vanessa Bayer is such a sharp and joyful comic talent, and in Big Deal she mines the story of her own life to deliver hard comedy with deep resonance,” said Gary Levine, president of entertainment at Showtime.