EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Chris Estrada (This Fool) is set to headline, co-write and executive produce Forklift, a single-camera warehouse comedy in development at NBC. Former top Comedy Central executives Kent Alterman and Sarah Babineau will executive produce for Good Walk, the company they launched after leaving the cable network in the wake of the Viacom-CBS merger.
In Forklift, co-written by Estrada and Rick Cisario, Victor (Estrada), a forklift driver promoted to warehouse supervisor, finds that upward mobility comes with a cost when his friends and co-workers go from viewing him as their brother to now being part of “Big Brother.”
The series is inspired by real-life experiences by Estrada who was still working at his warehouse job when he got the call that Hulu had taken his comedy series This Fool in for development.
Estrada and Cisario executive produce with Good Walk’s Alterman and Sarah Babineau as well as Jordan Tilzer. Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.
The sale of Forklift comes amidst a major comeback for comedy series built around standup comedians.
Touring comedian Estrada, who has appeared on Comedy Central standup specials during Alterman and Babineau’s tenure there, previously co-created, executive produced and starred in the 2022 Hulu comedy series This Fool, which ran for two seasons. He recently guest starred on the NBC/Universal TV sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, co-wrote and starred in 5th of July, a short film that was an Official Selection at the LA Film Festival and NY Latino Film Festival, and will be seen in the upcoming Neon feature Wrong Girls, opposite Kristen Stewart, Seth Rogen, and Lakeith Stanfield. Estrada is repped by UTA, El Centro Management and Yorn Levine.
Cisario is the writer of the upcoming feature Old Pals with Brian Cox, Henry Winkler, Emma Roberts and Evan Rachel Wood. His screenplay, Supported, is on the 2024 Blacklist’s Disability list. He is repped by Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes.
Good Walk has multiple projects in the works stemming from the company’s recent first-look deal with FX as well as sales at other studios and platforms. The company is repped by Sloss Eckhouse Dasti Haynes.
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