Ariel Winter Replaces Demi Lovato in NBC's Hungry Pilot Days Before Production Begins

Ariel Winter
Ariel Winter
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Amanda Edwards/Getty; Diggzy/Shutterstock

Ariel Winter has found her next TV home.

The Modern Family alum, 24, has been cast in the starring role of NBC's Hungry pilot days before production begins, according to Deadline.

The news comes after Demi Lovato stepped down from the leading role last week due to scheduling conflicts.

A rep for NBC did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

ariel winter
ariel winter

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RELATED: Demi Lovato No Longer Set to Star in NBC's Hungry Pilot, Will Remain on Series as an EP: Report

Written by Hot in Cleveland creator Suzanne Martin, the multi-camera comedy "follows a group of friends who belong to a food-issues group helping one another as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that's going to make it all better," according to a plot description from NBC.

As production kicks off this week with a table read on Tuesday, NBC was eager to recast the role in order to stay on schedule. The show previously received a put pilot commitment, which means the network would have to pay a penalty if it doesn't air.

Lovato, 29, who was first attached to the role in January 2021, will remain on the show as an executive producer, alongside their manager Scooter Braun and Martin. Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills will also executive produce, as well as James Shin and Scott Manson of Braun's SB Projects.

The show also stars Valerie Bertinelli, Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias, Ryan McPartlin, Alex Brightman and Ashley D. Kelley.

RELATED VIDEO: Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter & Sofia Vergara Coordinate in Black Dresses for Modern Family Wrap Party

Winter is known for starring as brainy daughter Alex Dunphy for the entirety of Modern Family's 11-season run, which concluded on ABC in 2020.

The actress has been open about her own struggles with body shaming, which she says she faced from fans of the show. "I got called 'a fat slut' when I was 13. That was rough," Winter said on Red Table Talk in December.

"Because I gained weight and my body changed, I had to wear different outfits and I wore a dress that had a cutout here," she said, pointing to her chest. "And the headlines were dark. 'Fat slut' was rough for me, and it continued."

"It was the fans, some of them — we have lovely, lovely fans, but some of them were also hard on me in the way they loved Alex Dunphy. And because I wasn't Alex Dunphy and didn't look like Alex, I didn't want to dress like Alex… I was just different in that way. I'm not my character," Winter added.