The Odd Couple is heading back to television, this time with Matthew Perry starring. CBS has officially put in a pilot order for the planned remake.
The project was first reported on in December. Perry will co-write the original pilot script with Danny Jacobsen (Mad About You) and executive produce. In front of the camera, he’ll play Oscar Madison, the slob of the duo, much to the chagrin of super-neat Felix Unger. It’s still not known who will play Felix.
According to Variety, the pilot’s final script will be penned by Perry and Joe Keenan (Fraiser). The executive producing team features Perry, Eric Tannenbaum, Kim Tannenbaum, Carl Beverly and Sarah Timberman.
Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple debuted on Broadway in 1965 and was adapted into a classic film in 1968 with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. The two reunited decades later for a sequel. But the best known version of the property is still the long-running TV show that paired Jack Klugman with Tony Randall.
TV Guide notes that Perry’s version is being developed as a multi-cam comedy, filmed in front of an audience. It’s the first time Perry has worked in that format since Friends. His subsequent, short-lived projects have all been in a studio without an audience.
He was last in the sports broadcasting comedy Go On for NBC.
image courtesy of CBS