Lionsgate Begins Development on New Comedy Series

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER, July 30: Lionsgate has begun
development on a half-hour alternative comedy series based on Letters from a
Nut, a trilogy of books which have sold
more than a million copies worldwide.

The books, first published in 1997, are collections of prank
letters from “Ted L. Nancy” to actual companies, government entities,
celebrities, politicians and others. The books are introduced by Jerry
Seinfeld, which has fueled speculation over the years that Nancy is a pseudonym
for the famous comedian or his longtime friend and collaborator Barry Marder.
Other reports have indicated that comedian Bruce Baum was the author of the
letters.

Marder, Rob Lee of Bayonne Entertainment and Gary Auerbach
of Go Go Luckey Productions are developing the project with Lionsgate and will
serve as executive producers. This is not the first time that someone has tried
to get Letters from a Nut onto the TV
screen; in 2002 ABC greenlit a pilot, but it was not picked up for a series.

“In comedy, timing is everything—and that also applies
to the making of comedies," said Kevin Beggs, the president of television
programming and production at Lionsgate. "Nancy's wonderfully wacky
letters appeal to the prankster in all of us, and we see great potential here
for a very funny show."