The Pradeeps are headed to Pittsburgh. Well, sort of.
Last week, streaming service Amazon Freevee announced that it had ordered a new comedy series called “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh.” It’s being pitched as a “modern-day immigrant story” that was “inspired by the personal experiences” of former “Black-ish” co-executive producer and writer Vijal Patel, according to a Freevee news release.
“This show is from a very personal place, and explores the many facets of the immigrant struggle,” Patel said in that release. “As my parents say, the pain got funnier over time — like wine.”
Not much else is known yet about this show beyond the basic premise and the talent involved. The Union Progress was able to confirm, though, that despite its title, “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” will be shooting in Toronto, not the Steel City. That’s a little surprising considering that fellow Freevee half-hour comedy “Sprung” filmed its first season in Pittsburgh and Freevee is currently making season two of “American Rust” here.
The eight-episode first season of “The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh” is a collaboration between Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios. Patel will be serving as showrunner, writer and executive producer alongside a team of fellow EPs that includes Sara Gilbert (Darlene on “Roseanne”) and “The Big Sick” director Michael Showalter, who has been tapped to direct the pilot episode.
It stars Naveen Andrews (“The Dropout”) as Mahesh Pradeep, an engineer who uprooted his family from India to pursue a business opportunity. The rest of the Pradeep family is comprised of matriarch Sudha (Sindhu Vee, “Matilda the Musical”), rebellious teenage daughter Bhanu (Sahana Srinivasan, “For All Mankind”), mama’s boy Kamal (Arjun Sriram) and America-idolizing Vinod (Ashwin Sakthivel).
Then there’s the Mills family, neighbors whose lives soon become entangled with the Pradeepses’. They consist of the deeply Christian Janice (Carnegie Mellon University graduate Megan Hilty, “Smash”), “guy’s guy” Jimbo (Ethan Suplee, “My Name Is Earl”) and teenage son Stu (Nicholas Hamilton, “It Chapter Two”).
“As told through hilarious (and often conflicting) flashbacks from an interrogation room, the Pradeeps quickly find themselves embroiled — romantically, personally and professionally — with a polar-opposite neighborhood family, leading to a predicament with many surprising twists,” according to the plot description from the Freevee news release.
Jason Clodfelter, co-president of Sony Pictures Television, praised the “rich world” Patel created that he believes is “grounded in heart and the outrageousness of real-life families.”
Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD (advertising-based video on-demand) original content and programming at Amazon Studios, also has high hopes for this Pittsburgh-set (but not Pittsburgh-filmed) show.
“‘The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh’ shines a comedic light on the centuries-old, universally relatable first-generation experience,” she said. “We look forward to sharing Vijal’s personally inspired story — filled with heart, humility and humor — with the Freevee audience.”
Joshua covers pop culture, media and more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Contact him at jaxelrod@unionprogress.com.