Donny Deutsch just got another TV gig. This time he will star in a half-hour comedy called Donny! for the USA Network, although the NBC Universal cable net did caution that the title could change.
The show’s premiere date isn’t set, but the network expects to air it late this year.
USA said it has ordered six episodes of the so-called “soft-scripted”
series, meaning that there’s room for improv within the program. The show will take a satirical look at the media, wealth and modern romance through the eyes of Deutsch’s fictionalized
character, loosely based on Deutsch himself.
Chris McCumber, president of USA Network, described the program as a “Curb Your Enthusiasm" style series, centered on the hyper-imagined real
life of Donny Deutsch. The juxtaposition of how Donny portrays his public and personal life in this series is hilarious, and the storylines are a real wink for the viewers, showing that despite
anyone’s profile or success, we all deal with the same issues.”
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Deutsch was formerly CEO of ad shop Deutsch Inc., which was founded by his father, David Deutsch, in 1969 and
acquired by Interpublic Group in 2000. The younger Deutsch stepped down from the CEO post in 2005 and just relinquished the title of chairman. He was previously the host of the CNBC talk show
“The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” and is currently a regular on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” He has penned two business motivation books, “Often Wrong, Never in
Doubt” and “THE BIG IDEA: How to Make Your Entrepreneurial Dreams Come True from the AHA Moment to Your First Million.”
The USA series is being produced by Left/Right,
producer of Showtime’s “This American Life” and VH1’s “Mob Wives,” among other programs.