Taran Killam to Star in Jason Katims Showtime Pilot ‘Mating’; Jay Pharoah to Topline ‘White Famous’
Photo: NBC
by Lesley Goldberg
Days after exiting Saturday Night Live, Taran Killam and Jay Pharoah have landed new gigs at Showtime.
Taran Killam has been tapped to star in Mating, the comedic anthology pilot from the Parenthood and Friday Night Lights creator, while Pharoah will topline the cabler’s Jamie Foxx comedy, Showtime president David Nevins announced Thursday at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour.
Written and created by Stu Zicherman (The Americans, Lights Out, Six Degrees), Mating explores modern mating, with each season exploring a different protagonist’s journey. The comedy will center on a recently divorced guy who tries to evolve and connect, one date at a time.
READ MORE Jason Katims Comedy Anthology Ordered to Pilot at Showtime
The casting lifts the contingency off the project, which was contingent on finding a leading man for the yearlong anthology. Sources say the role is a one-year deal as season two would tell a different story. Zicherman will pen the script and executive produce Mating alongside Katims and his Universal Television-based True Jack Productions topper Michelle Lee. The project was first put in development in August 2014. With the pilot order, Showtime has boarded the comedy as a co-production with Universal Television.
Mating is True Jack’s latest small-screen project. Katims also is writing the pilot for romantic drama Us at HBO as well as CBS drama Pure Genius. Additionally, True Jack is exec producing Hulu’s cult drama The Path, which was renewed for a second season.
For Showtime, meanwhile, Mating serves as a reunion for Katims and David Nevins, who exec produced Friday Night Lights.
