Vir Das, the Indian comedian and actor, will be writing and starring in an American comedy series for Fox media that revolves around country music. The single-camera comedy series is titled Country Eastern.
Das will also serve as the executive producer for this international project.
Apart from him, executive producers for the show include Andy Samberg, star of Brooklyn 99, as well as Sam Laybourne, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Ali Bell and Reg Tigerman.
Laybourne, who has written for shows like Black-ish, Arrested Development, and Cougar Town, will also serve as the showrunner for Country Eastern.
According to the press release, Country Eastern is about “a young wealthy man from India who moves to America to restart his life with his family. In an attempt to rebuild their lives in Memphis, Tennessee, he decides to pursue his passion and become a country music singer. The only issue is that he’s completely shit at it. He’s going to have to gain some life experience in the States if he wants to have something real to sing about.”
Das said in a statement that the writing process is currently underway. “I’m excited to be collaborating with such immensely talented names, each of whom have an envious body of work. It’s a unique comedy and I’m looking forward to filming the series soon,” he added.
The series will be produced under the CBS Studios and Fox Entertainment banners.
Besides this, Das will also soon be seen in an upcoming Hollywood comedy film, titled The Bubble, directed by Judd Apatow.
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Meanwhile, the comedian recently sparked controversy back home with his six-minute monologue video titled I Come from Two Indias, in which he spoke about several socio-political issues in the country.
The video was from a show at the John F Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, USA. It garnered both widespread criticism as well as praise. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Delhi Vice President, Aditya Jha, filed a complaint with the Delhi Police alleging that comedian made “derogatory” remarks against India on an international platform with the intention of maligning the country’s image.
Das later put out a statement clarifying that the video was meant as a “satire about the duality of two very separate Indias.”