Fox Orders Animated Comedy ‘Bless the Harts’ Starring Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph

By Nellie Andreeva, Deadline
Published Sep. 26, 2018, 9:56 a.m. ET

Launching a new animated series on Fox has been a top priority for the network’s entertainment president Michael Thorn ever since he joined the network last fall. After commissioning development and presentations for multiple projects in the past 12 months, the network has made its first series order in the arena in a couple of years, giving a 13-episode straight-to-series pickup to Bless the Harts, a half-hour animated comedy series from The Last Man on Earth co-executive producer Emily Spivey and executive producers Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Seth Cohen.

Its star voice cast is led by Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Maya Rudolph (The Good Place), Jillian Bell (Saturday Night Live) and Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors). The series, produced by 20th Century Fox TV and studio-based Lord Miller, is slated to air during the 2019-20 season.

Created by Spivey, Bless the Harts follows a group of Southerners who are always broke as a joke and struggling for the American dream of status and wealth. What they don’t realize is that they’re already rich — in friends, family and laughter.

Spivey, Lord and Miller executive produce along with Wiig and and Cohen.

“Emily Spivey has the uncanny ability to observe the simplest qualities of everyday life, framing together bold characters and hilarious stories built around warmth and heart,” said Thorn, “Having grown up in a close-knit Southern family, she has a deep well of material that has inspired her to create this show, with a phenomenal cast, headlined by Kristen, Maya, Jillian and Ike. As home to television’s most iconic animated families – the Simpsons, Griffins and Belchers – we’re thrilled to welcome the Harts to Fox.”

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Kristen Wiig

Lord and Miller executive produce through their Lord Miller Productions banner, with the company’s Aubrey Lee overseeing the project. The pair are in development on Business as Usual, a single-camera comedy set at NBC that revolves around everyday employees at a company in crisis, trying to keep their jobs and maintain their relationships as their workplace goes insane. Up next for Lord and Miller on the film side is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which will hit theaters in December, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, slated for release in February. Lord and Christopher are repped at UTA and Ziffren Brittenham.