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CBS has ordered a pilot for the new Broadway-themed comedy Hilda! (In Lights!).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series was created by writer Abbey Caldwell and follows Hilda, a 70-year-old woman from Nebraska who leaves home to pursue her lifelong dream of starring on Broadway– with no previous stage experience whatsoever.
Additional casting and production details for Hilda! (In Lights!) have not yet been announced.
Abbey Caldwell is a television writer and producer whose credits include Peacock’s Laid, the animated comedy Krapopolis, and ‘s Fresh Off the Boat.
While Broadway has frequently appeared as a backdrop in television, relatively few scripted series have centered on the industry itself. NBC’s Smash (2012–2013) remains the most notable example, chronicling the creation of a Broadway musical and later inspiring its own stage adaptation.
Fox’s Glee also helped bring musical theatre into the mainstream, featuring numerous Broadway songs and performers and eventually following several characters as they pursued careers on the New York stage. The series featured starring and guest turns from Broadway actors including Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Jonathan Groff, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Neil Patrick Harris, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Patti LuPone, Whoopi Goldberg, and Josh Groban all appearing throughout the series.
Other series have explored theatre from different angles, including NBC’s Rise (2018), which followed a high school’s production of Spring Awakening, and FX’s Emmy-winning Fosse/Verdon (2019), which dramatized the lives and careers of Broadway legends Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. More recently, Étoile, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, examined the world of ballet.
