Hotmail
FOX NFL Sunday star primed for primetime sitcom
by Michael Starr and Kate Sheehy, New York Post
More from the New York Post
The Fox comedy will feature Strahan, 37, as an ex-NFL player who returns home to Houston to live with his parents and his sibling, former "Ed" and "Veronica's Closet" actor Daryl "Chill" Mitchell.
"You'll see a real chemistry there," Fox Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said yesterday.
A Fox spokesperson later told The Post, "Kevin has known Daryl for awhile, and he knows Michael from his work on the Fox NFL pregame show.
"They pitched Kevin the concept, and it gelled really well. Kevin was very pleased with how the pilot played out."
The TV brothers' dad will be played by Carl Weathers, who gained fame as Apollo Creed in the "Rocky" movies.
He and Strahan have common ground right out of the gate — Weathers is a former NFL player with the Oakland Raiders.
The brothers' mother will be portrayed by CCH Pounder, who played Detective Claudette Wyms in TV's "The Shield."
The half-hour show is set for an 8 p.m. time slot in the fall.
It will be the first substantial acting stint for Strahan, whom Reilly has called "a natural talent."
To date, the former superstar defensive end — who holds the single-season record for sacks — has had a cameo on TV's "Chuck" and appeared in commercials for Snickers and Right Guard.
Josh Schwartz, the creator of "Chuck," told the Newark Star-Ledger last year, "When the cameras rolled, Michael was really, really funny.
"Everyone on the set was completely blown away," Schwartz said. "After everyone saw him, they were like, 'Well, maybe we should get [him] back here.' "
Strahan currently is an analyst on FOX NFL Sunday.
Helping to anchor the new show will be Strahan's veteran-actor co-star, Mitchell.
Mitchell's character in "Brothers" is wheelchair-bound, as the actor is in real life, after being paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in 2001.
"Brothers" was picked by Fox for its upcoming lineup because "we were looking for a family comedy to pair with 'Til Death,' " a network spokesperson said.
Fox will launch two other new shows — "Glee" and an animated comedy, "The Cleveland Show."
Add a comment
advertisement
