EXCLUSIVE: Cable may be dying but The Cable Guy lives on — on streaming. Hulu has ordered a comedy pilot inspired by the Jim Carrey movie, with Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. attached to star and executive produce. The pilot order comes on the 30th anniversary of the Ben Stiller-directed black comedy which debuted in June 1996. The untitled project is produced by Sony Pictures Television, whose film studio sibling released The Cable Guy, and Sony TV-based Original Film (The Boys franchise).
Johnson also headlines the new NBC comedy series Sunset P.I. If the Cable Guy pilot goes to series, he will be able to do both.
The pilot was written by Rob Rosell (It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia) and Joe Piarulli & Luan Thomas (Cobra Kai), big fans of the movie who are honoring it, not remaking it, in the vein of what the Fargo TV series did with the Coen brothers feature. Still, The Cable Guy TV show is keeping closer ties to the original than Fargo did, as its stars Johnson and Wayans Jr. are playing versions of the central characters from the movie, Chip Douglas (Carrey) and Steven Stephens (Matthew Broderick), respectively. It also gives the 1996 premise a 2026 makeover for the streaming age.
Here is the logline: In a world of endless streaming, binging, and algorithms, old-school cable technician Chip Douglas (Johnson) languishes alone — until Steven Stephens (Wayans Jr.) calls to have his cable turned back on, reconnecting Chip with a childhood friend he never forgot. The relationship gives each man something he’s been missing… until Chip’s enthusiasm turns into obsession. Inspired by the movie, the show explores the darkly absurd side of modern-day male friendship.
Luan Thomas, Joe Piarulli and Rob Rosell
Getty/Courtesy
Rosell, Piarulli and Thomas, who will serve as co-showrunners, executive produce alongside Johnson, Wayans Jr. and Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty.
The pilot reunites Johnson and Wayans Jr. who are both original New Girl cast members and starred in the pilot of the Fox comedy series from Liz Meriwether. Wayans Jr. famously had to pull out when his bubble ABC series Happy Endings was surprisingly renewed. Instead of recasting his role as Coach and reshooting the pilot, Fox and the New Girl producers opted to keep the pilot as is and introduce a new series regular character played by Lamorne Morris in Episode 2. That allowed Wayans Jr. to eventually return in Season 3, becoming a series regular in Season 4 of the Zooey Deschanel-led comedy and a guest star in Seasons 5-7. Johnson was a series regular for New Girl’s entire seven-season run; Rosell was a co-executive producer on the show for Seasons 3-6, earning a WGA Award nomination for his episode Landline.
This marks Sony TV’s return to Hulu where the indie studio previously produced the 2016 drama series Shut Eye and comedies Future Man (2017) and Woke (2020).
It also is Sony TV’s first pilot in years as the studio awhile back pivoted its business from broadcast to streaming with a focus on drama; its current network series are all on Fox which does not do pilots. The pilot model has been making a comeback in streaming lately, with Hulu and HBO Max now using it on a regular basis.
The Cable Guy pilot order follows Hulu’s pickup of drama pilot Chicks starring and executive produced by Ellen Pompeo, which was revealed by Deadline yesterday. The Disney streamer also picked up a comedy (Lex) and a drama (Durango) pilot in tandem this past March.
‘New Girl’ (L-R): Damon Wayans Jr., Jake Johnson, ‘Dice’, (Season 4, ep. 402)
Fox
If the Cable Guy pilot goes to series, it will join Sony TV’s two current live-action comedy series, Platonic on Apple TV and Twisted Metal at Peacock, with several others in the works, including Save the Date. At the studio, the Cable Guy project was developed by SVP Comedy Development Kate Gill; Sony TV’s most recent head of comedy, EVP Comedy Development Colin Davis, departed in the most recent round of layoffs in April.
Directed by Stiller from a script by Lou Holtz Jr. and produced by Judd Apatow, The Cable Guy stars Carrey as Chip, a psychologically unstable cable installer who forces his friendship on an unsuspecting customer, Steven (Broderick), with his methods gradually getting darker and more unhinged.
The movie did respectably at the boxoffice with $103M worldwide, short of previous Carrey hits but enough to turn a profit. It also subsequently became a cult hit.
Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty
Alex J. Berliner/ABImages/Getty
In 2026, Johnson is being seen in The Sun Never Sets, which premiered at SXSW, his fourth collaboration with Joe Swanberg, in which he stars opposite Dakota Fanning and also produced; the series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, opposite Tatiana Maslany, which recently premiered on Apple TV; and the pickleball comedy The Dink, opposite Mary Steenburgen and Ed Harris, also for Apple TV. He is repped by UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
Like Johnson, Wayans Jr. headlined an NBC drama pilot this past season, Puzzled; it didn’t go to series. He can currently be seen in Scary Movie, which is leading this weekend’s box office, and recently co-starred in the Netflix films Players and Kinda Pregnant, starring Amy Schumer. Wayans Jr.’s Two Shakes Entertainment banner has a producing deal at CBS Studios and most recently had Poppa’s House and Raid the Cage on CBS. He is repped by UTA, Range Media Partners, Ziffren Brittenham and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.
Piarulli and Thomas, who are under an overall deal at Sony TV, have been writing together for over a decade. They were on Sony TV’s Netflix comedy Cobra Kai for its entire six-season run, joining as co-producers in Season 1 and rising to executive producers. Their previous series writing/producing credits also include Galavant, F is for Family, Obliterated, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the Sony TV-produced The Tick. They are repped by CAA, Industry Entertainment Partners, and attorney Chris Abramson..
Rosell has spent 10 seasons on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia over two stints, most of them as executive producer. He also currently co-executive produces CBS’ Ghosts. Recently, Rosell was executive producer/showrunner on Sony TV’s Fox animated comedy series Universal Basic Guys and executive producer on Season 2 of FX’s Adults. His EP credits also include FXX/Hulu’s Dave and TBS’ Chad. He is repped by UTA and Hansen, Jacobsen, Teller, Hoberman.
Original Film has been under overall deals at Sony Pictures TV since 2015. The company is behind The Boys popular franchise for Prime Video, which continues with the upcoming prequel Vought Rising. Original Film is currently in production on The God of The Woods, starring Maya Hawke. for Netflix and also is produces the animated comedy Golden Axe for Comedy Central and the S.W.A.T. Exiles spinoff.