TV Land is the latest cable channel to green-light a TV pilot based on a web series. The Viacom-owned hub best known for its repository of classic TV shows has a deal in place with Community star Alison Brie, who will produce a pilot based on the web series Teachers.
Teachers, which first debuted on YouTube in November 2012, is created by The Katydids, an all-female sketch comedy group that has performed at UCB and Second City. The group gets its name from its six members, whose names are all variations of Katherine: There’s Caitlin Barlow, Katy Colloton, Cate Freedman, Kate Lambert, Katie O’Brien and Katie Thomas. In Teachers, the sextet plays instructors at an elementary school, where they must teach their impressionable kids while keeping their own lives in check.
The 20 episodes of Teachers have collectively received more than 800,000 views on YouTube, with the Katydids gaining more exposure on channels like Above Average. Here is the show’s sizzle reel:
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The TV Land pilot will be produced by Brie, who will work with TV Land President Larry W. Jones. “From the second this project came across my desk, I’ve been in love with it,” Jones said. “The tone of the show is unlike anything we’ve had on TV Land. I’m really excited about the idea of building this unexplored world, where teachers are the eccentric characters you always hoped they weren’t.”
Teachers is built in a similar mold to other web series that have jumped to TV. Most notably, it occasionally resembles Broad City, which recently got picked up for a second season on Comedy Central.