Having starred for twelve years in one of the biggest sitcoms of all time, The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco showed off a lot more of her dramatic acting range in the two seasons of Max’s The Flight Attendant (which was canceled this year) and in Peacock’s Based on a True Story. The second season of the latter is set to hit the 2024 TV schedule, but not before reports about Cuoco’s next project surfaced, and it sounds like she’s embracing her genre roots once more.
Cuoco is now set to star in and executive produce the upcoming half-hour comedy currently titled Kansas City Star, which Deadline reports is now destined for the premium cable waters of HBO, which secured the new project after what sounds like a bidding battle. And it’s understandable why multiple platforms would be vying for the show even beyond Cuoco, which also speaks to HBO being a fitting home.
Kansas City Star hails from Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, the creators of Hacks, the Jean Smart-fronted comedy that came out as the arguably surprising big Comedy winner at the 76th Emmy Awards back in September. How awesome would it be to have Smart’s Deborah Vance as a lead-in for Cuoco’s new show? (Might as well also throw in a wish and a prayer for Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Veep to get a revival.)
While not a lot of fine-tuned details are available just yet, Kansas City Star’s basic synopsis reportedly revolves around Cuoco playing a famous-but-not-too-famous actress who goes back to her hometown in order to share her talents and wisdom with a regional theater’s acting troupe. Sounds like an easy way to poke fun at the entertainment industry while embracing smaller-town life.
The genre tone is categorized as “comedy with a heart,” which is an interesting push for HBO, where pushing the envelope is usually the bigger play than genuinely positive vibes. Of course, considering just how filthy Kaley Cuoco’s language gets on Max’s Harley Quinn (whose titular queen was inspired by another classic sitcom), one can probably expect her new series to feature F-bombs and more flowery language as well. I guess unless this regional troupe is filled with 11-year-olds.
At the time of writing, no finalized deals had been put into place, but the going idea is that HBO will indeed go forward with a series order for Kansas City Star, and it will be produced under the overall deal that Cuoco's Yes Norman Productions has with Warner Bros. Television. (A similar deal to the one that Aniello, Downs and Statsky have with the studio.)
Streaming service Max has been a reliable source of new comedy projects over the years, but HBO is really going hard on setting audiences up for laughter in its post-Curb Your Enthusiasum climate. Fans can look forward to new shows on the way from longtime comedy vets Steve Carell and Bill Lawrence, as well as I Think You Should Leave's Tim Robinson. Cuoco should feel right at home.
Season 1 of Based on a True Story is currently available to stream with a Peacock subscription, and Season 2 will be arriving on November 21.