Based on the success of the excellent comedy-drama The Last Man On Earth, Fox ordered a pilot for another high-concept comedy program back in February, titled Chad: An American Boy. It’s a fairly standard idea for a show. The protagonist is a fourteen-year-old boy who gets saddled with the task of being the “man of the house.” The twist is that the boy in question will be played by a thirty-four year-old woman, specifically, Nasim Pedrad.
As soon as I heard that Nasim Pedrad would star and write the pilot, I immediately decided to watch the program. I was very disappointed when she left Saturday Night Live in the thirty-ninth season finale. It will be wonderful to have another chance to support her comedy style.
Also of note is that the show will feature a Middle Eastern family. This is especially important because Nasim herself was the very first Middle Eastern and Iranian cast member in SNL history. She even jokingly remarked about Fox’s lack of diversity in a statement, saying that she was happy to show a Middle-Eastern family that would not be “working for or against Jack Bauer.”
Unfortunately, this is also why production on the pilot has been temporarily halted. Two new cast members have been hired, but “visa issues” prevent filming until sometime this month. It should be noted that the aforementioned issues are nothing to be concerned about. They were conducting a worldwide search for actors in an effort to remain ethnically diverse.
Unfortunately, this has the effect of making the show no longer eligible to be in the running for the standard September/October pilot dates. If it is ordered to series, then it will be considered for the midseason slate. I sincerely hope that it becomes a series, so we can see more diversity on television. That, and I really want to see how they are going to make Nasim Pedrad look like a fourteen year-old boy. It’s one thing on a late-night sketch comedy show, but quite another task for a sitcom. In the meantime, you can catch Nasim on Fox’s New Girl, currently in its fifth season, and the first season of Scream Queens, which can be found online.
Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or the Harry Potter books.
