NBC Gives Pilot Order to Tracy Morgan Comedy Project

Tracy Morgan plays a disgraced former football player is on a mission to rehabilitate his image.

Note: Morgan will next star in Paramount+’s half-hour comedy series “Crutch,” which is scheduled to premiere later this year. His deal allows him to star in both projects in the future.

Tracy Morgan co-starred alongside Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin on seven seasons of NBC’s Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning comedy “30 Rock.” He received an Emmy® nomination as a supporting actor for his work on the show and was nominated multiple years for an NAACP Image Award in the TV supporting actor category.

Morgan is set to star in the upcoming half-hour comedy series “Crutch,” which centers on a Harlem widower whose empty nest plans are put on hold after his millennial son and free-spirited daughter move back home. The series is slated to premiere in 2025.

Morgan joined “Saturday Night Live” in 1996 where he appeared for seven seasons and created such memorable characters as Astronaut Jones and Brian Fellows. After leaving “SNL,” Morgan went on to star in his own comedy series, “The Tracy Morgan Show.”

In 2023, Morgan released his latest stand-up special for Max titled “Tracy Morgan: Takin’ It Too Far.” Other TV credits include “Martin,” “The Last OG,” “Crank Yankers,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and stand-up specials “Staying Alive,” “Tracy Morgan: Bona Fide” and “Black & Blue.”

On the film side, Morgan’s credits include “What Men Want,” “Coming 2 America,” “Cop Out,” “The Longest Yard” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”

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Commitment: Pilot order

Platform: NBC

Genre: Comedy (single-cam)

Studio: Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group

Production companies: Little Stranger, Bevel Gears, 3 Arts

EP/W: Robert Carlock & Sam Means

EP/T: Tracy Morgan

EP/NW: Tina Fey, Eric Gurian & David Miner

EP (pilot only)/D: Rhys Thomas

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCER BIOS

Robert Carlock was an executive producer and co-showrunner on NBC’s “30 Rock,” for which he won three Emmy Awards® for Outstanding Comedy Series and was individually nominated four times in the writing category. He also served as an executive producer on the Emmy Award®-nominated Netflix series “Girls5eva” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” the latter of which he co-created with Tina Fey. In addition, he was the co-creator of NBC’s “Mr. Mayor” as well as Netflix’s animated series “Mulligan.”

Carlock started his career at “The Dana Carvey Show” before joining “Saturday Night Live” for five seasons, including a two-year stint as the producer and head writer of “Weekend Update.” Following “SNL,” he joined the writing staff at “Friends” when the show won the Emmy® for Outstanding Comedy Series and ended its 10-year run.

His work on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live” has earned him nine Writers Guild Awards, a Golden Globe and Peabody Award. In 2018, Carlock was presented with the WGA’s Herb Sargent Award for Excellence in Comedy.

Carlock has an overall deal with Universal Television.

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Sam Means is currently under an overall deal at Universal Television, where he most recently created, served as co-showrunner and was the executive producer for the animated apocalyptic-comedy “Mulligan.”

Prior to that, he was a co-executive producer on Peacock’s “Girls5Eva” and “Mr. Mayor” His other series credits include “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Great News,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Parks and Recreation” and “30 Rock.”

Means began his television career as a late night writer for “The Daily Show.”

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Tina Fey is known for creating the iconic Emmy Award®-winning comedy series, “30 Rock.” As executive producer, head writer and star, her creative on the series earned her an Emmy®, two Golden Globes, four SAG Awards and a People’s Choice Award.

Prior to creating “30 Rock,” Fey completed nine seasons as head writer, cast member and co-anchor of the “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live.”

In 2015, Fey and writing partner Robert Carlock co-executive produced and created the hit Netflix original comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” starring Ellie Kemper. The series was nominated for Best Comedy Series category for the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards®, boasting four nominations for the cast, including a guest actress nod for Fey. Fey also served as executive producer on “Girls5Eva,” which premiered in 2021. The third season debuted on Netflix in 2024.

On the film side, Fey wrote and co-starred in the iconic comedy “Mean Girls,” for which Fey earned a Writers Guild Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. She then co-starred opposite Amy Poehler in the 2008 comedy “Baby Mama” and two years with Steve Carell in “Date Night.” In 2023, Fey lead the ensemble cast of “A Haunting in Venice,” directed by Kenneth Branagh.

On stage, Fey wrote the Broadway adaptation of “Mean Girls,” which opened in 2018 and received 12 Tony Award® nominations. She recently toured the U.S. with Amy Poehler for their sold-out “Restless Leg” comedy tour, including 11 shows at New York’s iconic Beacon Theatre.

As an author, Fey released her first book, “Bossypants,” which topped the New York Times bestseller list and also received a Grammy® nomination for Best Spoken Word Album. The book was released in paperback in 2012 and has sold more than 5 million copies.

This upcoming spring, Fey can be seen in Netflix’s upcoming eight-episode comedy series “The Four Seasons,” based on the 1981 feature film of the same name. Universal Television will produce and Fey will serve as star, writer and executive producer under her Little Stranger banner.

Fey has an overall deal with Universal Television.