CBS says yes to Mike Birbiglia
by Allison Waldman, posted Mar 15th 2008 5:02PM
Mike Birbigilia's girlfriend probably doesn't think it's a good idea, but someone at CBS has greenlighted Mike Birbiglia's Secret Public Journal, a pilot for a new sitcom. Maybe it was Whiffle Ball Tony, you know? Mike's sitcom will be based on the comic's stand up comedy act as well as his weekly autobiographical blog. In the show, Mike plays a Brooklyn stand-up comedian who lives with his girlfriend, works on their relationship and tries to make a success in show business. The humor, naturally, will reflect the routines he's been doing on CD (two) and on TV -- The Late Show with David Letterman (he was one of the youngest guys ever to do stand up on the show), Comedy Central and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Should Mike Birbiglia (and you have to love a guy that didn't change his name) make it as a TV star, he'll be following in the footsteps of quite a few other men and women who made the jump from comedy clubs to primetime success, including CBS's own Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), not to mention Jerry Seinfeld (Seinfeld), Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show), Roseanne Barr (Roseanne), Tim Allen (Home Improvement), among others. Just as long as he doesn't try a Chicken Soup (oy vey -- Jackie Mason).
Birbiglia worked with Andrew Secunda (Love, Inc.) on pilot, and Secunda penned the script.

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