ABC Pilots U.S. Version of Austrian Comedy Braunschlag

VIENNA: ABC has ordered a put pilot of ORF’s series Braunschlag, with ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television working on the U.S. adaptation called Hail Mary.

The American adaption centers on a young female mayor named Mary Wolf, who has dysfunctional siblings, a dying father, disgruntled citizens, a nearly bankrupt town and the mafia breathing down her neck. The only thing that saves her and her backwoods town is a faked miracle. Brian Gallivan (creator of The McCarthys) is leading the series, with Seth Gordon directing the pilot and Tariq Jalil (founder of production company Intrigue) as executive producer.

The Austrian original, created by David Schalko, aired on ORF in prime time with market shares of 36 percent.

Marion Camus-Oberdorfer, the head of ORF-Enterprise’s Content Sales International, said: “Intrigue never lost faith in this extraordinary scripted format and finally succeeded in setting up the Sony/ABC deal; we are very proud and honored that Braunschlag will soon be available as a U.S. adaption.”

Schalko added, “The new and unconventional interpretation of the story makes the U.S. adaption very appealing to me. I am curiously looking forward to ABC’s spin-off version.”