Crystal Fox has joined the series regular cast of Hulu and Sony Pictures Television’s untitled Cable Guy pilot, joining previosly announced cast Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson, and Natasha Rothwell.
The pilot is not a remake of the 1996 Jim Carrey film but rather takes its creative cue from what FX’s Fargo did with the Coen Brothers film, honoring the source material rather than recreating it. Set in the streaming age, the series follows Chip Douglas, an old-school cable technician who languishes alone until Steven calls to have his cable turned back on, reconnecting Chip with a childhood friend he never forgot. The relationship gives each man something he has been missing until Chip’s enthusiasm turns into obsession. The show explores what it describes as the darkly absurd side of modern-day male friendship.
Fox stars as Lynette, the mother of Wayans Jr.’s Steven and Rothwell’s Gina, a woman concerned that her son is adrift after his breakup who finds herself going down various social media rabbit holes.
Johnson and Wayans Jr. both star in and executive produce the project. The two first appeared together in the original New Girl pilot in 2011 and later reunited in the 2014 comedy Let’s Be Cops. Rob Rosell, Joe Piarulli and Luan Thomas serve as co-showrunners and co-wrote the pilot. Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty of Original Film also executive produce. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television, which also distributed the original film, and arrives on the 30th anniversary of Ben Stiller’s cult classic, which grossed $103 million worldwide.
Fox is best known for her roles as Sgt. LuAnn Corbin in In the Heat of the Night and as matriarch Hanna Young in Tyler Perry’s The Haves and Have Nots. She was most recently seen in the Netflix series His & Hers playing Tessa Thompson’s mother and as Mayor Izzy on Apple TV’s The Big Door Prize. Rothwell, known for her twice Emmy-nominated performance in The White Lotus, is also the creator, executive producer and star of Hulu’s How to Die Alone.