Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith—the actors who played the parents on That ‘70s Show—are reuniting for a new sitcom pilot for ABC about the real-life of standup comedian Nate Bargatze. The show is being executive produced by the duo behind the The Carmichael Show—Jerrod Carmichael and Ari Katcher.
From Deadline: “Based on the life and comedy of Bargatze, the series follows Nate (Bargatze) and his wife Laura (Katie Aselton) who choose to move from California to Nate’s native Tennessee, where his parents, played by Rupp and Smith, still live, to raise their 6-year-old daughter. They find the pursuit of a simple life to be much more.”
Bargatze recently released his breakout Netflix special The Tennessee Kid.
As he explained to RELEVANT at the time, Bargatze grew up going to church in Tennessee, and after years on the comedy circuit in cities like Chicago and New York, moved back to raise his family.
“In Tennessee, everybody is a Christian,” he said, “You can look outside your car and be like, ‘All these people go to church.’ You don’t meet people that don’t. So Chicago was the first time that I ever met people that either weren’t religious or didn’t believe in God.”
However, even though he’s become a big name in the world of stand-up, he still remains close to his roots.
“A lot a people that I was around weren’t Christians and didn’t grow up in the church or anything,” he said.”Sometimes guys can go away from that, but it just made me get more into it, because I just thought, ‘Why do you think you’re right?’ I’ve always said I trust my parents more than I trust anybody else I ever met.”
You can read more of our conversation with him from earlier this year here.
