There's just something about Stephen Merchant. While his friend and business partner Ricky Gervais just becomes increasingly tedious with time the cult of Merchant continues to slowly grow. Thanks largely to the fact that Merchant's comedy largely pokes fun at his own awkwardness rather than attacking others he has slowly developed from 'that guy in Ricky's stuff' to a major star in his own right.
And he clearly has fans at HBO, who have just placed a pilot order for Merchant's new sitcom Hello Ladies.
According to Deadline the show will star "the 6ft 7in Merchant as a gawky Englishman searching for the woman of his dreams in Los Angeles. Half as charming as he thinks he is -- and twice as desperate -- he's obsessed with infiltrating the glamorous world of beautiful people. Unfortunately the beautiful people won't let him in."
A pilot order is no guarantee that the show will proceed to a full order - Spike Lee's Da Brick never made it past this stage - but it's certainly a good sign.
And he clearly has fans at HBO, who have just placed a pilot order for Merchant's new sitcom Hello Ladies.
According to Deadline the show will star "the 6ft 7in Merchant as a gawky Englishman searching for the woman of his dreams in Los Angeles. Half as charming as he thinks he is -- and twice as desperate -- he's obsessed with infiltrating the glamorous world of beautiful people. Unfortunately the beautiful people won't let him in."
A pilot order is no guarantee that the show will proceed to a full order - Spike Lee's Da Brick never made it past this stage - but it's certainly a good sign.