Bates Motel co-showrunner Kerry Ehrin and star Freddie Highmore are expanding their relationship.
The duo is teaming for an untitled romantic comedy set up at NBC, The Hollywood Reporter has learned, with the network handing out a script commitment to the project.
The untitled comedy will be written by Ehrin and recent Cambridge University graduate Highmore and mark the actor's first time penning a pilot script. The half-hour single camera vehicle is set in the world of venture capitalism. It centers on the intimate relationship between an overly emotional but talented female executive and her ambitious and eccentric young British assistant.
It's unclear if Highmore, who stars as young Norman Bates on A&E's Psycho prequel Bates Motel, will have an onscreen role should the project move forward. Highmore and Ehrin will executive produce the comedy, which hails from Universal Television, where the latter has an overall deal.
Ehrin and Highmore came up with the idea for the show while attending June's Critics Choice Awards, where Highmore and co-star Vera Farmiga were both nominated for their lead acting roles on Bates Motel. The drama, from co-showrunner Carlton Cuse, returns for its third season in 2015.
Ehrin, whose credits include Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, Boston Legal and Moonlighting, is repped by Rothman Brecher. She most recently teamed with Revenge's Nikki Toscano for CIA drama Red Zone, which went to pilot at CBS but did not move forward.
Highmore, who has had roles in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Finding Neverland and August Rush, is with ARG and Felker Toczek.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
