A reunion of the leads from National Lampoon’s Vacation is in the works, and its coming to your television.
Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo — Clark and Ellen Griswold, respectively — have signed on to star in a new sitcom, according to Deadline . Brad Copeland, the writer best known for his work on Arrested Development and My Name is Earl , will pen the script. Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment will be producing, and has already sold the series to ABC.
Reuniting Vacation stars Chase and D’Angelo, the as-yet-unnamed single camera comedy is based on an idea by Aaron Kaplan. Chase and D’Angelo play a sixty-something couple who are more than happy that their grown up daughter has moved out and lives on the other side of the country. For Chase and D’Angelo’s characters, seeing their grandkids only a few times a year is more than enough. However, a combination of circumstances occur which requires the couple to take in their grandchildren and raise them in their home.
Hilarity ensues.
Brad Copeland and Aaron Kaplan will executive produce the show together. The pair have worked together in the past, running Inbetweeners , a stateside version of a British television show that aired on MTV.
To get the show rolling, Kaplan approached Beverly D’Angelo with the idea, and she apparently was on board from minute one. D’Angelo reached out to her former Vacation co-star, Chevy Chase, and reportedly once he heard the pitch, Chase signed on immediately.
With the Vacation stars in tow, Kaplan took the idea to ABC, and the network was so excited about the project that they signed a deal then and there.
Aaron Kaplan claims he is a huge fan of the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise, and he couldn’t be happier now that Chase and D’Angelo have agree to work on the show.
Released in 1983, National Lampoon’s Vacation was a comedy written by John Hughes and directed by Harold Ramis. Clark Griswold decides that he’s going to take his family on a cross-country road trip from Chicago to Wally World, a Disneyland-type amusement park destination in California. Along the way, the family encounters a non-stop variety of roadblocks and missteps, culminating with Clark’s complete mental breakdown once they reach their destination.
National Lampoon’s Vacation featured Chevy Chase at the pinnacle of his career. Between 1980 and 1985, Chase made seven films back to back including Vacation , Caddyshack , and Fletch .
The Vacation film spawned several sequels, including European Vacation , Christmas Vacation , and Vegas Vacation . Only Christmas Vacation came close to the influence and hilarity of the original, according to Rotten Tomatoes, and it remains an immensely popular film around the holidays.
Currently, no release date has been made official for the Vacation alum sitcom.
[Image via Funny Pictures ]