Laurie Metcalf, who starred in the classic sitcom Roseanne, has signed on to star in a new pilot for CBS called The McCarthys.
The pilot has been in the works since CBS ordered it in January 2013. It is produced by Sony Pictures Television and Will Gluck’s Olive Bridge. Gluck is best known as the director of Easy A and worked on NBC’s The Michael J. Fox Show this season. He is also directing Sony’s Annie remake.
The McCarthys still revolves around a sports-crazy Boston family that is also Irish Catholic. According to Deadline, which first reported the news, Metcalf will star as the family matriarch, Marjorie McCarthy, who spends time with her gay son. Jack McGee plays the father, who would rather go to their other sons’ sports games.
CBS is producing a second pilot for The McCarthys. The original starred Silver Linings Playbook actress Jacki Weaver as the mother, but she has decided to go on to other projects. McGee (The Fighter) and Joey McIntyre, who plays a son, are the only stars of the first pilot staying on. The original pilot was also shot in the single-camera format, but is being changed to multi-camera.
Metcalf, who earned two Golden Globe nominations for Roseanne, recently appeared on CBS as Sheldon’s mother on The Big Bang Theory. She just wrapped up HBO’s Getting On.
image: CBS