I’m not exactly sure why cars have become a prime target for network sitcoms, but along with the new NASCAR show with Kevin James on Netflix, NBC is bringing out a new sitcom about the automotive industry.
Called American Auto, the show follows a fictional Detroit-based car company called Payne Motors (which I’m sure will prove to be a comedic storyline in and of itself). It’ll air during the 2021-2022 television season, and it’s said to follow the trials and tribulations of our currently changing automotive world.
Thankfully, it sounds like there’s some real talent at the helm. The single-camera comedy is coming from Justin Spitzer, the writer and producer of Superstore, a fairly successful sitcom that follows what it’s like to work in a big-box store. Despite the fact that the general concept of working in one of those warehouses is depressing as hell, Superstore manages to be funny in its exploration of things like unionization, which gives me hope that American Auto can make a halfway decent splash.
If you need any more faith in his comedic abilities, Spitzer has also worked on The Office (the US version, with episodes containing some of the classic lines from the series that have been memed time and again), Scrubs, and Mulaney.
Following the executives of Payne Motors, it looks like the star here will be Saturday Night Live alum Ana Gasteyer, who plays the CEO of Payne, as per the Detroit Free Press. You can also expect to see Jon Barinholtz, Harriet Dyer, Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White, and X Mayo in the cast.
There aren’t a ton of other details about it at the moment, but it already sounds more promising than Netflix’s The Crew, which is more than I could ask for.
And I’m just saying—if any TV or film execs are reading this, I have some truly genius ideas about fictional car stories. Let’s talk.
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