EXCLUSIVE: Its a Dunphy mini-reunion at ABC and 20th Television. Former Modern Family star Sarah Hyland has been tapped to headline Yours, Mine & Paul’s, a multi-camera comedy series in development at ABC, from fellow Modern Family alum Ty Burrell and his recently launched Desert Whale Productions.
Written and co-executive produced by writer, director and actor Julia Meltzer, Yours, Mine & Paul‘s centers on Lauren (Hyland), who agrees to be a surrogate for her best friend, Paul, and his husband, Xander. There’s just one problem: Lauren and Xander hate each other. Oh, also Paul dies in the cold open.
Hyland’s Lauren is an impulsive, faux-enlightened millennial who agrees to be the egg donor and surrogate for her best friend Paul, and his husband Xander, despite (or maybe because of) the fact that she and Xander are constantly competing for Paul’s attention. She likes the idea of being the glowing, pregnant center of attention for nine months without having to take care of a crying baby at the end of it. After Paul’s sudden death, she is confronted with the looming possibility of motherhood and co-parenting with her nemesis.
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Yours, Mine & Paul’s marked the first sale for Desert Whale Prods. under the two-year first-look deal the company inked with Modern Family studio 20th TV last month. The comedy had been a hot commodity from the get-go, with Burrell as the driving force.
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“He brought us this fantastic script from a promising young writer he identified, and ABC loved it as much we did,” 20th TV President Carolyn Cassidy said at the time of the show’s sale to the network.
Yours, Mine & Paul’s profile now has been raised further with the casting of Hyland, someone both ABC and 20th TV have been looking to get back on the air in a new comedy series.
Burrell executive produces Yours, Mine & Paul’s with Mel Cowan, Jonny Meeks and Joel Spence. Erica Schechter is Director of Development at Desert Whale.
For 11 seasons, Burrell and Hyland starred together on the acclaimed ABC comedy Modern Family as dad Phil Dunphy and the eldest of the Dunphy children, Haley, respectively.
Hyland, who also recently starred in the Robert Luketic-directed feature The Wedding Year, guest-starred on Veronica Mars and recurred on Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, is repped by WME, Richard Konigsberg Management and Gang Tyre.