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NBC’s Working On a Muslim-Jewish Sitcom

Are American TV viewers ready to flock to a network sitcom that explores questions of faith and ethnic identity, not to mention the often tense relationship between Muslims and Jews? Probably not! Nonetheless, the new regime at NBC is going to give it a try. Vulture hears the Peacock is working with Avalon Television to develop a small-screen adaptation of last year’s British comedy film The Infidel, which had its U.S. debut at Tribeca and then played here largely via cable video on demand platforms. The film starred Omid Djalili as a devout Muslim who one day finds out he was adopted and that his birth parents were Jewish. We’ll pause here so you can get the “oy vey” out of your system. Anyway, the team behind the movie is largely staying intact: The film’s producers are shepherding the TV transition, while Djalili is attached to reprise his starring role (and also exec produce). The adaptation will be written by Bruce Almighty and Click scribe Mark O’Keefe. While it’s hard to imagine a U.S. broadcast network dealing with the thorny issues tackled by The Infidel — Fox’s attempt to Americanize the Canadian comedy Little Mosque on the Prairie died in development hell — NBC has long had something of a crush on Djalili: He was a regular on the short-lived 2003 Peacock sitcom Whoopi and the short-lived 2011 Peacock sitcom The Paul Reiser Show.

NBC’s Working On a Muslim-Jewish Sitcom