‘Pretty Little Liars’ Tammin Sursok, Sean McEwen Land Comedy Series Deal at Astronauts Wanted
Tammin Sursok of “Pretty Little Liars” and writer-director Sean McEwen have inked a deal with digital studio Astronauts Wanted to develop and produce a new scripted comedy series “Aussie Girl.”
The series will be produced by Sursok’s production company, Charlie Baby Productions, and New York-based Astronauts Wanted, a joint venture between Judy McGrath and Sony Music Entertainment.
Sursok is set to star “Aussie Girl,” which is loosely based on the actress-writer-producer’s experience of being a star Down Under — before having to start all over again after moving to L.A. The story takes place at the very moment when her career in Australia takes a turn for the worse and she is forced to flee and try to make it in Hollywood. Astronauts Wanted bills it as a fish-out-of-water comedy that’s a hybrid of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and “Inside Amy Schumer.”
Also Thursday, Astronauts Wanted announced it has optioned young-adult novel “The Hidden Memory of Objects” by Danielle Mages Amato. The novel, to be released by Balzer+Bray/HarperCollins in March 2017, is about Megan, a young artist who uses her ability to see memories attached to objects to find out more about her brother’s death. With the help of an artifact detective who specializes in “murderabilia” — objects tainted by violence or the deaths of their owners — she uncovers troubling truths not only about her brother but also about corruption and social injustice in the nation’s capital.
“These two projects are a great demonstration of our drive towards premium scripted youth content,” said Nick Shore, Astronauts Wanted’s chief creative strategist. “Both projects tap into the youth zeitgeist in fresh, unique ways. We’re extremely excited to work with both Tammin and Danielle to bring these striking visions to the screen.”
“Aussie Girl” is written and directed by McEwen (“And Punching the Clown,” “Bernie”) and Sursok in collaboration with executive producer Cassidy Lunnen. The project is overseen by Astronauts Wanted’s Nick Shore and head of development Kim Rosen. The show does not currently have distribution.
Sursok is repped by Michael Szewczyk at Grandview and Emma Lewis at Paradigm; McEwen is repped by Brett Etre at Primary Wave.
Mages Amato is represented by Lana Popovic at literary agency Chalberg & Sussman and Alice Lawson at literary and talent agency Gersh.
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