TruTV Shares Unscripted Projects

TruTV announced several unscripted projects that are in development, including Around the World in 80 Games from Fortune Feimster, Blackspiracy With James Davis and an untitled Maz Jobrani project. Feimster, Davis and Jobrani are comedians.

Those projects join the animated pilot This Functional Family (working title), from comedian Jo Koy. Tru also entered into a development deal with comedian Yamaneika Saunders and is at work on a game project with the working title Can You Beat Yamaneika?

Around the World in 80 Games (working title) is a half-hour comedic series in which Feimster travels the globe and throws herself into the “surreal world” of international game shows, as Tru puts it. The pilot is produced by 10Fold, with Feimster, and 10Fold’s Craig Armstrong and Rick Ringbakk the executive producers.

Related: ‘At Home With Amy Sedaris’ Back on TruTV Feb. 19

Blackspiracy With James Davis (working title) is a half-hour comedic variety show featuring creator and host James Davis, “who turns his unique lens on black conspiracy theories as a way to look at pop culture.”

The pilot is being developed by Davis and Martin Usher along with Nile Evans and Jesse Collins Entertainment. Davis, Evans, Usher, Jesse Collins and Brillstein Entertainment Partners are executive producers.

The Untitled Maz Jobrani Project sees Jobrani use stand-up, scripted sketches, interviews and hidden cameras to mine comedy from what people go through to “fit in.” Co-created by Iran-born Jobrani and Jon Beckerman, the pilot is being produced by JASH in partnership with NowThis. Jobrani, Beckerman, Daniel Kellison, Max Broude, Miriam Mintz and Ray Moheet are executive producers.

Can YouBeat Yamaneika? sees comedians compete in a series of fast-paced games to see who has the quickest wit. Each week, one winner goes head-to-head with the host to see who is funnier on their feet. The unscripted format is being developed with Yamaneika Saunders, Nile Evans and Rick Dorfman the executive producers.

Voice talent for This Functional Family includes Tia Carrere, Gillian Jacobs, Phil LaMarr and Josh Luis Keaton. The animated project puts Koy at the center of a “fractured, patched-up, multi-racial, dysfunctional family,” said Tru. Created by Koy and Kirk Rudell, This Functional Family is produced by Stun with Koy, Rudell, Jeremy Colfer, Mark Feldstein and Brad Roth its executive producers.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.