As FOX continues to seek new animated shows to join its lineup, the network has turned to stand-up comic and former sitcom star Jeff Foxworthy. Daily Variety reports that 20th Century Fox is producing an animated pilot presentation from the comedian and 10 Items or Less exec producers Nancy Hower and John Lehr. Parallel Ent.’s J.P. Williams will also serve as an exec producer.
The untitled comedy will revolve around a dysfunctional family involved in the world of NASCAR auto racing. Foxworthy, host of FOX’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, will write and exec produce the show, in addition to voicing one or more characters. His previous voiceover credits include the animated sequel The Fox and the Hound 2 and the live-action/CG adventure Racing Stripes.
With its blue-collar appeal, the Foxworthy project would seem to make a good companion piece or possible replacement for Mike Judge’s long-running animated comedy series King of the Hill. FOX has renewed King for at least one more season, but the show has been in danger of cancellation before. After 13 seasons, the show’s producers may be ready to pack it in soon and focus on new properties.
Judge and King of the Hill exec producers John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky are developing The Goode Family, an animated comedy series that has received a 13-episode order from ABC. The show is being produced by Media Rights Capital, the company behind ABC’s short-lived animated Clerks series and a number of successful independent live-action films.
FOX’s latest animated prospect to go to series is The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy. The sow is being shopped at next month’s MIPCOM television market in Cannes, and is slated to hit the air in the winter of 2009. Other toon series in development include an animated version of FOX’s short-lived, live-action sitcom The Pitts from Simpsons producer Mike Scully; Relative Insanity from actor Jack Black; and Mothballs from Drawn Together creators Matt Silverstein and Dave Jeser.
