This Fox Comedy Pilot's Shaping Up Nicely

NBC's comedy "brand" may still be limping along, but Fox has got it covered. The network recently premiered the Will Forte-starring sitcom Last Man On Earth , and now they're looking ahead to the next round of newbies, casting Natalie Morales and Mary Elizabeth Ellis in Fox comedy pilot The Grinder , according to Deadline. Both hail from beloved sitcoms — Morales from the recently-ended Parks and Recreation as Tom paramour Lucy, and Ellis from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, on which she plays The Waitress. Now they're getting their own time to shine.

So what exactly is The Grinder? It sounds more like a meat contraption or a crime procedural than a sitcom, but I promise it's a comedy. It's also one that stars another Parks and Rec alum, too, with Rob Lowe playing the title character, "beloved TV lawyer" Dean Sanderson. The Wonder Years' Fred Savage will play his brother. The decription, via Deadline:

When his long-running hit series comes to an end, he finds himself at a crossroads in life and decides to move back to his small hometown, thinking he has the experience to take over his family’s law firm. Once there, he butts heads with his brother, Stewart Sanderson (Savage).

As for who the newest additions to the series will be playing: Lowe's former Parks co-worker Morales will be a paralegal named Claire who works at the law firm of Savage's Stewart and who is completely unimpressed by Dean's TV history; Ellis will be playing Stewart's wife Debbie, whom Dean still kind of pines for.

Fox has been killing it on the comedy front lately (as much as any of the main major networks can, really) with The Mindy Project, New Girl, Brooklyn 99 , and now Last Man On Earth. They've earned some goodwill here despite busts like Mulaney and Dads, so here's to hoping this pilot makes it to air and we actually get to see these sitcom alums flexin' their skills in this new, promising project.