Deadline‘s Denise Petski is reporting that FX has sprung for a pilot of Belated, a half-hour comedy series that’ll be directed, written and executive produced by Peter Tolan (Rescue Me).
Belated “follows an unexpected intergenerational friendship between Owen, a recently out man in his 40s, and Clay, a 17-year-old trans teen, as Owen and his ex-wife and children attempt to find their new normal.”
HE questions: (a) Will Owen be played by a deep-voiced, sharp-witted African American whose head is shaved clean and who likes to occasionally smoke cigarettes?, (b) Tolan will presumably keep his characters from engaging in any sort of sexual activity with each other — Owen can’t “do” Clay or vice versa. Owen’s ex-wife needs a straight Republican boyfriend who has a voice like Ben Shapiro‘s and a snippy attitude about guys who wait until their mid 40s to decide that they’re gay. Clay and the ex-wife also have to steer clear of each other. And yet sexuality is a big, big part of who they are.
Director-writer friend: Woke comedies are being embraced right now. Alternate titles: Pandering, Curb Your Genderism, The Woke Couple, Nonbinary in the Park.