Those who love HBO’s Veep and the 2005 cult-hit Waiting can rejoice, as NBC has initiated development on a new, restaurant-based ensemble comedy written by five-season Veep veteran writer and co-executive producer Sean Gray. Derived from Daniel Riley’s 2016 GQ article ‘Inside the Church of Chili’s’, which presented an in-depth profile of a band of ultra-devoted and enthusiastic Chili’s ‘super trainers’, the nascent untitled comedy will follow a team of trainers as they travel America – from ‘burb to shining ‘burb – opening new branches of a fictitious, Chili’s-inspired fast-casual restaurant chain.
Gray came to Veep as a writer under the auspices of show creator Armando Inannucci, having previously worked with Iannucci on another of his creations, the UK series The Thick Of It. Gray ascended to co-executive producer for his last two years working on Veep, enabling him to share in its back-to-back Emmy wins for Best Comedy Series in 2015 and 2016.
In addition to writing the script, Gray is executive producing along with Condé Nast Entertainment, Sony Pictures TV Studios and Olive Bridge Entertainment. For Condé Nast Entertainment, the untitled sitcom is its third sale to a network this season.
