Bruce Campbell to lead ABC sitcom pilot Adopted from Jimmy Kimmel
After years of slaying Deadites at Starz, Ash vs. Evil Dead vet Bruce Campbell has eyed his next TV project with the ABC sitcom pilot Adopted from co-writer/executive producer Jimmy Kimmell, in which the 62-year-old performer has signed on to star, according to Deadline.
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The pilot will be inspired by the true life story of series co-creator Shawn Vance, who is also set to star as himself, with Wendie Malick (Hot in Cleveland) also set as a series regular along with Maxim Swinton (Halston), Tate Moore (Beautiful Dreamer), Sofia Pernas (Blood & Treasure) and Reyn Doi (Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar).
Should the pilot score a series order, this would mark Campbell’s first major TV project in nearly three years since starring in Ash vs Evil Dead, which ran for three seasons from 2015-2018. He also previously appeared in a number TV shows, including Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Xena: Warrior Princess, The Replacements, Burn Notice, Fargo and Lodge 49.
In Adopted, when a Green Beret returns home to Texas from service, he and his family struggle with the challenges of adopting his new brother, a 12-year-old Russian boy. Vance is to portray the role of Shawn Voss, who is overconfident like his father and anxious like his mother, and is fresh out of the US Army Special Forces and struggling to adapt to civilian life.
Campbell will be playing the role of John Voss, who is described as a “goofy, optimistic, carefree, and conservative dad. John is a red-blooded, all-American, business owner who hates negative thoughts… so he doesn’t have ‘em! He’s as out-of-touch as he is unaware, but makes up for it with his jolly nature. His greatest fear is interpersonal conflict, and now that the house is full of kids, conflict is inevitable.”
Malick portrays Shawn’s mother, Michelle Voss, who is described as an “empathetic, overly-attentive, good Christian mother who believes in her kids as much as she worries about them. She couldn’t be happier to have adopted her new Russian son, but is also realizing she doesn’t have the same pep in her parental step… and just may need something she’s never needed before: the help of her family.”
Swinton is set as Daniel Voss, a “recent adoptee from Russia, Daniel is socially unaware, naïve for his age, and speaks heavily accented English. On the one hand, he’s the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet. On the other, he has suffered a lot of trauma in his young life and runs primarily on raw emotion. He has high highs and low lows, but his earnest eagerness to connect with his new home & family is impossible to resist.”
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The pilot is written and executive produced by Kimmel, Vance and Daril Fannin, who is also a military veteran like Vance. The project hails from ABC Studios and Kimmelot, Kimmel’s joint venture with Brent Montgomery’s Wheelhouse Entertainment.
(Photo Credit: Todd Williamson/Getty Images)
