TBS has rescued Nasim Pedrad’s Chad from the dustbin of TV history. Back in 2016, Fox ordered a pilot for a comedy series that would star the former Saturday Night Live actor as a 14-year-old Persian boy named Chad “as he desperately tries to fit in, cope with his mother’s dating life, and reconcile his cultural identity,” but never picked up the show. Now, TBS has decided to give Chad a chance to live on, picking up the rights to that pilot to film it this spring. “I’m so grateful to TBS for believing in Chad and giving an adult Middle-Eastern woman the opportunity to play a teenage boy while also running the show behind the camera,” said Pedrad, who created, wrote, and executive produced the pilot, in a statement. Hayes Davenport is the executive producer and co-showrunner on Chad. Oly Obst and Rob Rosell are also executive producers. Pedrad will also appear in Aladdin this spring, playing an adult woman.
Update, May 15: At long last, Chad is headed to TV. TBS announced today that it’s handed out a ten-episode series order to the comedy, though a premiere date hasn’t been revealed just yet. “Thom Hinkle and I pursued this show for three years and it was well worth the wait. Chad is creative, diverse and inclusive storytelling that epitomizes the TBS brand,” said TBS and TNT general manager Brett Weitz. “Nasim Pedrad is a comedic mastermind and profound storyteller.” Check out a teaser for the series below:
