At Age 95, Norman Lear Is At It Again

Four decades after Sanford and Son ended its six-season run, legendary TV producer Norman Lear is returning to NBC. The network has handed out a sizable pilot-production commitment to Lear's long-gestating comedy Guess Who Died. Lear and prolific producer Peter Tolan (Rescue Me) will co-write the script and exec produce the single-camera comedy. Click "Next" to find out more. The project, which Lear has been championing for more than seven years, is described as a humorous and inspiring look at the shared joys and challenges we all experience at any stage of life. NBC notes the potential series is inspired by Lear, 95, and his secret to longevity: to continue learning and growing — but especially when society expects you to slow down. It's based on Lear's personal experiences and will be told in partnership with Tolan's authentic and irreverent voice. Sony Pictures Television Studio, Tolan's studio-based The Cloudland Co. and Lear's Act III Productions will produce. Lear, Tolan and Act III head of production and development Brent Miller will exec produce. Should Guess Who Died move to series, it would be Lear's second show currently on the air, joining Netflix's One Day at a Time reboot, which is now in production on season two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNFFleycS8k Click "Next" to read more. Lear has frequently discussed Guess Who Died publicly. He most recently organized a table read for it at the Austin Film Festival last year — featuring June Squibb, among others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk48piSwrBE Tolan, whose series also include The Larry Sanders Show and Murphy Brown, which earned him Emmy Awards, recently executive produced Sony TV’s WGN America drama series Outsiders. He is repped by CAA and attorney Ira Schreck. Lear, the writer-producer behind such classic TV sitcoms as All In The Family, Sanford And Son, One Day At A Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude, was recently selected as one of the 2017 recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. Guess Who Died marks the first big commitment for indie studio Sony TV this broadcast buying season. At NBC, the studio has drama series The Blacklist, Timeless and The Night Shift. Source: (Deadline, Purple Clover)