ABC is moving forward with a new half-hour family sitcom. According to Deadline, the network has given a script commitment with penalty to The Turners, from writer/comedian Naomi Ekperigin. Wilmer Valderrama and Damon Wayans Jr. are attached to produce through their WV Entertainment and Two Shakes Entertainment banners, respectively. Both actors have overall deals with CBS Television Studios, which will also be producing the series.
Based on the real-life Turner Family, whose family photo went viral last year, The Turners will tell the story of the titular family of black doctors. Years into retirement, both parents decide to re-enter the workforce alongside their three children. Now around their parents nearly every waking moment, the three siblings will struggle to find a healthy work/life balance and re-assert their independence over their parents. Ekperigin has written on shows such as Mrs. Fletcher and Broad City; she’s also appeared as an actor on Single Parents and Alone Together. She’ll be producing with Valderrama through WV Entertainment.
Earlier this fall, ABC picked up a new series called Let’s Stat Together starring Wayans Jr’s father, Damon Wayans Sr. The series will re-team Wayans Sr. with My Wife and Kids co-creator Dan Reo. It’ll reportedly follow the actor as a single father who finds it hard to get rid of millennial children. ABC also ordered a Fresh Off the Boat spin-off back in August, although that one’s far from reaching the air right now.
If it goes to series, The Turners will likely air sometime during the 2020-2021 TV season.
