Carly Chaikin Partners With Miramax TV, Showrunner Liz Brixius on Dark Comedy Series (EXCLUSIVE)
Miramax TV is developing and producing a new original series entitled “Messy,” created by actress Carly Chaikin, Variety has learned exclusively.
Chaikin is known best for playing the role of Darlene in USA Network’s “Mr. Robot” and co-starring as Dalia Royce in ABC’s “Suburgatory.” Chaikin not only wrote “Messy,” but will also star in the dark comedy about a mother-daughter duo that organizes houses for a living (the irony is that both of their lives are total messes). Chaikin will play the daughter.
In addition, Liz Brizius, the Emmy-nominated co-creator and co-showrunner of Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie,” will serve as showrunner as part of the overall deal she inked with Miramax TV last summer. Also attached to produce “Messy” are Julie Bowen and Rachael Field of Bowen & Sons, who both previously worked together on the ABC sitcom “Modern Family.”
“Carly Chaikin has written a refreshingly original comedy that very much taps into the zeitgeist. Its boldness and uniquely surreal humor make it a perfect fit for Miramax, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Carly, Liz Brixius and Bowen & Sons on bringing this to the screen,” said Marc Helwig, Miramax head of worldwide television, in a statement, who stepped into the senior role earlier in 2020.
“This is such a dream come true and I couldn’t be more excited to have found such an incredible partner in Miramax. Their unwavering support of not only me but of all-original stories and voices – especially those of female filmmakers and artists – is so rare. Working with them as well as Liz, Julie and Rachael to help bring this story to life has just been incredible. I can’t wait for audiences to see this show and hopefully relate to the ‘messy’ lives and relationships surrounding these characters,” Chaikin added.
Per Brixius, the series is made up of predominantly female characters who are “uniquely dysfunctional,” as the plot follows a daughter as she attempts to navigate not only her messy life but also the dysfunctional relationship she has with her mother. “Carly’s contemporary take on the blurry line between mental wellness and mental illness is absolutely refreshing,” Bowen noted in a statement.
Chaikin is repped by ICM, Berwick & Kovacik, and Goodman Genow.
The development of “Messy” follows a year of ownership changes and executive shifts at the television production company. In April 2020, ViacomCBS and BeIN Media Group closed a $375 million deal, which gave the former conglomerate a 49% stake in Miramax, while the latter conglomerate would continue to retain its 51% stake in the company, which it acquired in 2016.
Both companies also announced that Paramount Pictures was entering into an exclusive, long-term distribution agreement for Miramax’s film library to develop and finance new film and television projects based on existing Miramax IP. Soon thereafter, Miramax TV began filling out its executive team. Amanda Klein was named senior vice president of television and Isha Mehta was named vice president of international business affairs of the company’s television department last summer. The studio also announced that it would be co-producing a small screen adaptation of the bestselling Cetin Ikmen crime novels by Barbara Nadel with ViacomCBS Int’l Studios, entitled “The Turkish Detective.”
(Pictured: Carly Chaikin)
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