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As reported by The Hollywood Reporter‘s Lesley Goldberg, ABC has approved a pilot for Jalen vs. Everybody, a comedy in which the ESPN analyst and former NBA star will play a single dad trying to juggle fatherhood and his career obligations. Rose is also an producer on the project.
The pilot was written by Fresh Off the Boat‘s Nahnatchka Khan. Rose made a guest appearance on that show last season, but the connection between he and Khan goes a bit deeper than that. Nahnatchka Khan is the sister of Nick Khan, who is also Rose’s agent.
Khan, who also represents fellow ESPN personalities Mike Greenberg, Michelle Beadle, Kirk Herbstreit and Stephen A. Smith. is considered one of the most powerful figures in sports media, according to The Big Lead and SportsBusiness Journal.
If the Jalen vs. Everybody pilot gets picked up for a series order, and an ESPN personality stars on an ABC sitcom, that could certainly give corporate synergy what it wants. ABC can use the show as a gateway to sports fans who might not otherwise pay attention to its comedy lineup, and ESPN potentially gets some exposure to a wider mainstream audience.
Additionally, if the show is true to life and Rose’s character works at ESPN, that might also present an opportunity for the network to put other personalities on the show. The talent Khan represents would presumably be first in line there. (At the very least, Rose’s NBA Countdown colleague Beadle has a shot, right?)
ABC ordering the Jalen vs. Everybody pilot continues a trend in sports-themed programming during television’s development season. Other projects include LeBron James’ sports assistants comedy Thankless at NBC (which is also working on a youth baseball comedy titled All-Stars), Calais Campbell’s football-related sitcom at CBS, a synchronized swimming sitcom at Fox (where the future of Pitch is still uncertain), and Michael Strahan’s football player-turned-cop drama with ABC.