Fox passes on coming-of-age sitcom pilot

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox is not proceeding with a sitcom billed as a coming-of-age ensemble in the vein of "That '70s Show," from the co-creator of that show.

The untitled semi-autobiographical project was written by Mark Brazill. At one stage, it was known as "The Rednecks & Romeos."

Casting for the pilot fell within the new guidelines at Fox for making final decisions based on tests-on-tape, not the traditional in-person network auditions.

After a live studio test, finalists for key roles in the pilot were taped at producer Warner Bros. TV for a network test. But after looking at the material, studio brass determined that, taped in front of a bluescreen, actors didn't pop the way they did during the in-person studio test.

Additionally, as a multicamera comedy, the project hangs heavily on the chemistry among the leads and the energy in the room, which also was lost on tape.

As a result, upon WBTV's request, Fox agreed to a dual network test: an in-person audition and a more-elaborate screen test done by the studio with the actors on the set. In the end, after seeing actors and reviewing tapes, Fox decided not to proceed.

Warner Bros. brass, however, are said to remain high on the project, which is expected to be shopped to other networks.