Coen Bros. exec-producing a new hour-long comedy series for Fox

Joel and Ethan Coen

Credit: AP Photo

Oscar-winning duo Joel and Ethan Coen, better known as the Coen Bros., are moving to the small screen with a new hour-long single camera comedy series for the Fox network.

Entitled "HarveKarbo", the quirky new show will center on a cantankerous Los Angeles-based P.I. as he investigates cases involving "Hollywood's depraved elite". The Coens will executive-produce, with co-creator Phil Johnston ("Cedar Rapids") penning the series, according to exclusive-getter Deadline.

This represents the first TV outing for the Coens, who had their biggest box-office success to date with last year's "True Grit" starring Jeff Bridges. The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay, though it lost in every category. The pair have won four Oscars in total - three for 2007's "No Country for Old Men" and one for "Fargo". They most recently penned the crime comedy "Gambit" starring Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman and Colin Firth for director Michael Hoffman.

Some will find it curious that the show is being developed with Fox, given that the broadcast networks aren't normally as open to auteur-driven fare as their cable counterparts, though it's possible that the show could end up airing on Fox's sister network FX (where it might be a better fit). As usual with this kind of filmmaker-driven project, I'm thinking the Coens will likely helm at least the pilot episode (like Scorsese did with "Boardwalk Empire" on HBO).