Showtime Networks has fast-tracked the pickup of “The United States of Tara,” a new 12 episode half-hour comedy series starring Academy Award-nominated actress Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine) as a wife and mother who suffers from disassociative identity (formerly multiple personality) disorder, it was announced today by Robert Greenblatt, President of Entertainment for Showtime. The comedy series, a co-production of Dreamworks Television and Showtime Networks, will delve into how a dysfunctional family, including Tara’s working husband played by John Corbett (“Sex and the City”), copes with the various identities that may appear on any given day and range in age, temperament and even gender.
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (Juno), who wrote the pilot, will continue to serve as a writer and one of the series executive producers along with Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank of Dreamworks Television, and Alexa Junge. The pilot was directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl).
“Showtime is known as the home of several shows featuring flawed main characters, and we welcome Tara — and all her alternate personalities — to the fold,” said Greenblatt. “What a pleasure to watch Diablo Cody and Toni Collette work together, a combination of inspired writing and acting that raises this show from just a curiosity to a compelling examination of a modern family. It is our distinct pleasure to also work with Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, and all the talented people at Dreamworks Television.”
“The United States of Tara,” which will begin production in Los Angeles this summer, marks the 11th primetime series to join Showtime’s lineup of original programming, including “The Tudors, Dexter,” “Weeds,” “Californication,” “Secret Diary of a Call Girl,” “Brotherhood,” “This American Life,” “Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union,” “Penn & Teller: Bullsh*t!,” and “The L Word.”
