IrsComedy

Richie Cunningham's having a great pilot season. Sorry. Got stuck in the '70s for a moment. Correction, Ron Howard continues to rake in the dough. Yeah, that's better.

This March, for the first time since 'Arrested Development' met its untimely demise, Howard's company, Imagine, will lend its touch to TV comedy.

As the Hollywood Reporter details, FOX has committed to a pilot order of Imagine's untitled IRS workplace comedy. The pilot, which was written by 'The Office''s Brent Forrester, is reportedly based on an idea that Howard's had bouncing around in his head (and presumably on paper) for a number of years.

This will mark Imagine's first foray into comedy. (The production company currently has three dramas on the air: '24', 'Friday Night Lights and' 'Lie to Me.') Howard will co-produce the single-camera project, which was originally scheduled to be multi-cam.

The last time Opie got involved in a television show, we wound up with Arrested Development. Now he's hoping he can bring back the funny, maybe this time with ratings. FOX has picked up a penalty-heavy pilot commitment for Ron Howard's new multi-camera IRS-based sitcom.

Think of it as a classic workplace comedy modeled after the Taxi formula. And we'll have the added fact that the IRS is despised by the American public. And yet, at the heart of the show is a guy who genuinely thinks he's doing something valuable and important. Beyond this character will be the typical ensemble of wacky co-workers you'd expect.

It's oddly refreshing that this will be done in the multi-camera format; making a strong comeback of late. It's being proven that buddy and family sitcoms can still be funny in this format, so why not the workplace comedy? As much as I love The Office and 30 Rock, I could handle something more like Taxi or NewsRadio from time to time.