David Walton (Bent) has signed on to star in NBC’s Jason Katims-produced single-camera comedy pilot About a Boy, TVLine has confirmed.
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The project, based on the book and subsequent 2002 film starring Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult, centers on the relationship between a man-child (Walton) and the young boy who moves in next door.
Walton just wrapped up a multi-episode arc on Fox’s New Girl.
Katims, who knows his way around film-to-TV adaptations having shepherded both Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, penned the script. Jon Favreau is on board to direct the pilot.
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Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult aren’t pictured there.
Walton is a stand up, great guy who deserves a hit show to anchor. He seems like a perfect match for Katims.
Katims = An Awesome show. The dude just knows how to develop excellent TV dramas. Its just sad that they are always underrated.
LOVE this! He was amazing in Bent and I really enjoyed him on New Girl, as well. I think he has that Hugh Grant boyish charm to make this work :)
+1 I think David Walton is great and was hoping for pilot news about him! I love Jason Katim’s shows. I think this is going to be a great mix!
Shame it’s going to be on NBC where everything flops regardless of how good is.
Not true! Grimm was a hit. Chicago Fire and Revolution both have a chance. And a lot of those lousy sitcoms of theirs have really long runs. Just because they cancelled some shows you liked, it doesn’t mean that everything flops. They just have poor management.
Match made in TV heaven.
Bad casting. 3 strikes at NBC for Walton. Bent,100 Questions, and Perfect Couples. Tom Welling, Taylor Kitsch ,or Zach Gilford . FNL love man.
Taylor Kitsch had two massive flops at the box office (John Carter and Battleship) so no network is going to cast him as a lead in a high profile series right now. Zach Gilford is 0 for 2 after FNL (Off the Map and The Mob Doctor). So using your own logic, these guys should not be cast.
And Tom Welling is busy producing and has no interest in being a lead in a new series.
Sorry but 2 box office flops are still better than no box office. Not to mention your guy has failed at 3 TV shows already. I put money this show fails. I’ve only been wrong once ,Scandal. Who saw that.
Yeah, sorry – but failed movie actor >>> TV actor. There are many TV stars who have had moderate to low success in films. Also, I doubt that Taylor Kitsch is planning a return to TV soon, since Savages did relatively well and he is still getting some major roles. I do have to say that I can’t imagine any of the other 2 guys playing Hugh Grant’s role – if they are somewhat faithful to the book/movie, the character will be somewhat of a smart ass and womanizer. Can’t see those two doing that.
Don’t forget “quarterlife”. Severely underrated show that lasted 6 episodes in 2010.
Ugh awful news. This show sounded good. Wish it was given a chance.
Just because you don’t like the actor doesn’t mean its not being given a chance. Its got a successful creator, a very successful director shooting the pilot, and a network. I don’t know your definition of “a chance” because I don’t more what more they could ask for.
I like Walton. I like the original About A Boy. Katims’ other shows aren’t bad either. But almost everything Walton stars in gets cancelled. I hope this show is given a chance anyways and gets good ratings, because it’s shaping up to be a good show.
David Walton is a show killer. This will either be not picked up or cancelled after a few eps.
I wish David Walton didn’t have the “show killer” rep. I find him quite charming to watch, and I loved him in New Girl (and Bent, for that matter, which never got a fair shake). The combination of Walton, Katims, and a Nick Hornby story sounds like a very good one to me. I’ll be watching this one.
Totally agree! I loved the book and trust that Katims will do a fantastic job…and it looks like he’s on his way selecting Walton as the lead.
I liked him a lot in “Bent”, a show I thought had real potential, and he was terrific with Joey King in that so you know he works well with kids. He’s perfect casting for an American Will Freeman. I count this as very good news.
The two other roles that absolutely HAVE to cast right are Marcus and Ellie.
Everybody is a “show killer”…until they get their major hit.
Walton has been one of the few standout actors who deserve to be on a hit series. I really liked Bent and his arc on New Girl and will Definetly be checking this out if it goes to series.
Useless Trivia: David Walton is married to Majandra Delfino, who was Maria on Roswell, which Jason Katims produced and wrote. (I was obsessed with Roswell :))
Me too! LOVE ROSWELL
No way! That’s awesome! (I really kind of LOVE useless trivia.)
I still miss 100 Questions
i strongly disliked him in new girl. he was just boring and uninteresting. like i couldn’t care less when he was on the screen. i didn’t even pay attention. he just bores me and isn’t someone i can be remotely interested in but i love katims so we’ll see how this goes i guess :/
James Lafferty , Adam Brody , or someone else please. I just read @Dline someone compare this guy to George Clooney, seriously rep’s trolling.
Tom Welling on the set of “Parkland” in Texas. But I hope to see him in a new project on TV with good writing and direction are the factors for success!
Tom Welling certainly after the movie parkland will return to television with a new pilot. Tom is an actor with a great personality and charm. I love Tom because he is an actor very reserved and does not seek publicity to show off to finish the paper.
Loved the book and the movie, now with David Walton and Katims, I’ll be watching. Looking forward to this.
David Walton is just a hilarious guy so I will definitely give the show a chance. I’m still bitter that Bent never got a proper chance…and New Girl didn’t keep him around longer!
Loved him as Sam in New Girl so I’m excited about this casting!