That’s right. It’s being considered. By NBC.
According to the Forward (although we thank Miriam for her diligent reportage of such stories), a TV series is being developed that features the Jewish Theological Seminary and its Morningside Heights neighborhood as the backdrop for a sitcom about seminarians:
David Light, the show’s creator, is a onetime Camp Ramah camper and an observant Jew. His wife, Sharon Brous, is the rabbi of a thriving young congregation in Los Angeles known as Ikar. Brous was ordained by The Jewish Theological Seminary, Conservative Judaism’s flagship institution. In real life, students at the seminary share dorms and some classes with the students at Union Theological Seminary, a nondenominational Christian institution.
Light, who himself considered a career in the rabbinate, opted instead for a career in comedy and television writing. Though he has done some writing for television, this is the first show he has created. “Morningside Heights” is being produced by Big Cattle Productions, a company founded by Eric McCormack (Will of “Will & Grace”).
Rabbi Brous was named to the Forward’s list of top fifty most influential Jews last year, and her essay about the guilt of being a female rabbi appears in the new Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt, edited by Ruthie Ellenson (which is reviewed by a Jewish Week singles columnist here).
In related news, I will soon be moving to Los Angeles to work on an NBC sitcom.
CLARIFICATION: The announcement of my move was kind of a joke. For now. But as I’ve said, I’m open to the right offer…
Thank you for great content.
Ah, Balaam, you’re still in it. That’s why it doesn’t seem funny. But with distance, trust me, it will…
It may be filled with bad puns. Or maybe, they’ll be able to muster up some star Jewish writers from across the US. And then we’ll see some Jewish sparks fly…
This is my second year of grad school at JTS, and I have yet to laugh within the walls of that fine instituion. Only when I step outside, and I realize that I go to JTS…..that’s when the laughter comes. The only way to make this one play is to throw in Joey Lawrence as a a rabbinical student, and one of his brothers as a UTS student. That’s instant comedy right there. Knowing what I know of the average Conservative Rabbi’s sense of humor (and trust me, I know quite a bit), this show will just be filled to the brim with really, really bad puns.
Whoa- funny Conservative Jews? Sounds like a groundbreaking project to me. Everyone knows that Orthodox= funny. Very Orthodox= very funny. Reform= funny, but only in a restrained “tee-hee” kind of way. Conervative? What do they know from funny?
Let’s try a little exercise: Two Conservative Rabbis walk into a bar…. and order drinks.
I’m having trouble seein’ it.
i’m so there, dude…
esther, we will have to meet up for frappacinos and i’ll sign you on to write my “west bank credit-card-hippy ba’al teshuva yeshiva” dramedy… i’m actually serious… tho’ if you find a better offer first, i won’t blame you one bit. (also, i don’t really drink frappacino).
Esther! Go West Young Maidel! We eagerly await your arrival in the sunny state. Amazing news! mazel Tov!