Will Arnett signs on for Greg Garcia's CBS pilot

'Up All Night' will still be in first position

By HitFix Staff Wednesday, Feb 20, 2013 10:28 PM

Will Arnett

Credit: Charles Sykes/AP

In what is merely the latest sign of people reading the "Up All Night" tea-leaves, Will Arnett has signed on to star in an untitled CBS comedy pilot from "Raising Hope" creator Greg Garcia.

The project focuses on a recent divorcee (Arnett) whose parents begin to have their own marital issues, according to various media reports including Deadline.com.

After the myriad spring road-bumps for "Up All Night," which included an abrupt format switch, the departure of leading lady Christina Applegate and then NBC's decision to trim even the revised format, Arnett became one of the most in-demand leading men for comedy pilots this development season.

Obviously this pilot would be in second position to "Up All Night" if NBC were to reverse course, shoot the multi-cam version, love the multi-cam version and decide to renew that comedy for an unlikely third season. We say "unlikely," but in the saga of "Up All Night," hardly anything has been "likely."

A five-time Emmy nominee, including four nods for his guest work on "30 Rock," Arnett will next be seen in the kinda-fourth-season for "Arrested Development," which premieres on Netflix in May.