NBC wants to stay in the Amber Ruffin business, as it has given a “put pilot,” commitment to Aunties from The Amber Ruffin Show writer Shantira Jackson, Ruffin and Seth Meyers.
Per Deadline, Jackson will write the series “loosely based on her life,” Ruffin will supervise and Seth Meyers is producing with Mike Shoemaker through their Sethmaker Shoemeyers company.
Aunties follows “what happens when a young woman goes back home and helps raise the women who raised her.”
With Jackson and Ruffin’s ridiculous brand of comedy, and depending on who gets cast as the aunties, this could be a really funny series. It’s going to be interesting following its progress.
A put pilot commitment means the network has agreed to air the pilot, or it will owe the studio a significant amount of money. This used to be a way of ensuring the show got picked up. Of course, in the new streaming age, airing a show doesn’t necessarily mean what it used to.
Ruffin first came to fame on Late Night with Seth Meyers as one of his writers who frequently appears in sketches like “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” and “Amber Says What?” This led to her own weekly show on Peacock, The Amber Ruffin Show.
No offense to Meyers, but Amber’s skits are usually the funniest part of any show she’s on. Do yourself a favor and check out her trip to Tokyo during the Summer Olympics, because it was hilarious.
In response to the news Jackson tweeted, “Working with @ambermruffin and @sethmeyers is always a dream come true and this is no exception!”
For her part, Ruffin displayed her trademark wit tweeting, “Who cares how bad your hair looks when the news is this good!”
In addition to being a writer on The Amber Ruffin Show, Jackson also appears in segments, is writer on animated Netflix series Big Mouth and Human Resources, as well as writer/consulting producer on Saved by the Bell.
The Amber Ruffin Show writing team, including Ruffin and Jackson, were nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards. However, they lost to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
The Amber Ruffin Show is streaming on Peacock, with new episodes premiering on Fridays.