CBS is heading back to the government workplace for its next comedy, this time at a federal agency. The network is developing Checkpoint, a single-camera workplace comedy co-written and executive produced by actor-writer-comedian X Mayo and veteran comedy showrunner Mike Sikowitz, with Kapital Entertainment also on board.
Based on Mayo’s real-life experiences as a TSA agent at LAX, Checkpoint is designed as a starring vehicle for her. The series follows TSA officers as they navigate careers, friendship, and romance, all while trying to maintain sanity—and keep America safe.
Mayo and Sikowitz executive produce alongside Kapital’s Aaron Kaplan, with Dylan Hammalian co-executive producing. The pairing of Mayo and Kaplan isn’t new—both previously collaborated on NBC’s workplace comedy American Auto, where Mayo was a series regular. A follow-up meeting in which Mayo shared stories from her TSA days ultimately sparked the concept for Checkpoint.
Sikowitz, known for his work on Friends, The Goldbergs, The McCarthys, and Rules of Engagement, brings decades of experience running workplace comedies, having served as showrunner on Dr. Ken and Welcome to the Family.
Mayo has continued to rise on both TV and film. She plays a lead opposite Yahya Abdul-Mateen in Disney+’s upcoming Wonder Man and recurs on Maya Rudolph’s Apple TV series Loot. She’s also guest-starred on ABC’s Abbott Elementary, will appear in the network’s Scrubs reboot, and was most recently seen in Freakier Friday.
Kapital Entertainment currently produces CBS’s multi-camera comedy The Neighborhood—now in its eighth and final season—as well as the single-camera offshoot Crutch on Paramount+, and sophomore drama series Watson.
While workplace comedies set in unusual environments have been attempted before, Checkpoint may have found the right “engine” for a TSA-centered story. “Both I and Larry Wilmore have been trying to crack a TSA comedy for the longest time,” said a showrunner recently. “I think a comedy has to have an engine, and in workplace comedies, you need an environment where situations naturally arise each episode.” TSA, it seems, delivers exactly that.