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Kevin Smith, Universal TV Developing Comics/Crime-Solving Series

Filmmaker Kevin Smith and Universal TV are developing Local Heroes, a series that would see a group of comic book store regulars solving crimes in their hometown.

Published Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:38:10 -0600

by Ray Flook

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Between Max's Hacks, Netflix's A Man on the Inside, and NBC's St. Denis Medical and Happy's Place, Universal Television is having a good run of things lately – not surprising coming from the home of previous modern classic comedies 30 Rock, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Will & Grace, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and The Good Place. In a recent Variety profile of the studio, executives at Universal TV had the opportunity to discuss their past and present successes and what it is that makes a "Universal TV comedy." Looking to the future, Universal TV has Tina Fey and Steve Carell for The Four Seasons, Greg Daniels and Michael Koman's "The Office" spinoff, writer/EP Dan Goor's espionage comedy Dead Drop, an adaptation of the film Car Wash for NBC from executive producer Malcolm D. Lee; and an untitled BET+ half-hour dramedy spotlighting a DJ from Lee, Larry Wilmore, and Ludacris. While much of that was known, the profile also announced exclusively that filmmaker and geek icon Kevin Smith and Universal TV are developing Local Heroes, a series focusing on a group of comic book store regulars who work together to solve crimes in their hometown.

Image: Chicago, IL USA – April 26, 2024:C2E2 Panel "30 Years of Clerks with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes" at 2024 Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL, USA. (Shutterstock.com – AB Images)/Universal Television

"We pride ourselves on facilitating collaborations," shared Jim Donnelly, Universal TV, Executive VP, Comedy Development. "Sean Hayes' company has been here for a long time. Josh and Dylan are overall deal writers who have worked in Mike Schur's and Tina Fey's camps. And Kevin Smith is a hero of mine and has his finger on the pulse of the genre world. This murder mystery show in a comic book store really fits into NBC's single-camera workplace, large-ensemble shows." Smith is an executive producer and writer on the series, as are Josh Siegal and Dylan Morgan (30 Rock). Universal TV, Hazy Mills' Sean Hayes & Todd Milliner, and Jordan Cerf are developing the project for NBC.

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