NBC pilot also stars Inbetweener James Buckley

Aisling Bea has landed a major role in a US comedy pilot.

The show – which is yet to be titled – is described as ‘one woman’s take on the side effects of trying to have it all’.

It has been inspired by the cartoon book I Feel Bad: All Day. Every Day. About Everything by Orli Auslander which uses ‘dark humour and brutal honesty’ to talk about a woman trying to be the best wife, mother, and friend she can be, ‘while simultaneously feeling shitty about virtually everything she does’.

Bea’s role is Simone, the main character’s childhood friend and ‘encourager of all bad ideas’, Hollywood trade magazine Variety  reports. If the show is picked up she would be a series regular.

The lead character, Emet, is played by Indian-American actress Sarayu Blue, and the comedy also stars James Buckley from The Inbetweeners. 

He will play Chewy, Emet’s colleague at a video game company. He is described as being ‘not the most articulate and refined, but he has played and beaten just about every game known to man’. It is perfect casting for Buckley, who has his own gaming YouTube channel, Completed It Mate, which has more than 330,000 subscribers.

 Aseem Batra, who has produced Scrubs, The Cleveland Show, and Uncle Buck, is developing the show for the NBC network, with executive producers including Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler

The show also stars Prison Break’s Paul Adelstein, UCB comedy regular Zach Cherry, and Johnny Pemberton, who was the titular Son of Zorn in a short-lived Fox sitcom last year.

As well as her comedy work, Bea has had straight roles in BBC crime thrillers The Fall and Hard Sun, available on Netflix and Hulu respectively in the States.

She joked of her new role on Twitter: ‘I’m doing a pilot! But enough about my love life, I’m also working on this which is nice.'

Published: 21 Mar 2018