IFC is not letting the end of Portlandia keep it out of the sketch space. The cable network has ordered an eight-episode season of Sherman’s Showcase, a musical variety sketch comedy in the vein of Soul Train, The Midnight Special and In Living Color.
The project hails from writing duo Bashir Salahuddin and Diallo Riddle, who worked for Jimmy Fallon during his Late Night days (where they made multiple on camera appearances) and recently penned episodes of TBS breakout The Last O.G. They are no strangers to variety, also working on NBC’s short-lived Maya & Marty.
Sherman’s Showcase will feature Salahuddin as host-parody Sherman McDaniel, taking viewers through time via music and comedy drawn from the four-decade library of his fictional musical variety show.
“We’d like to thank IFC for believing in Sherman’s Showcase,” Salahuddin and Riddle said in a statement. “People think of us as comedy guys, when in fact we’re really just frustrated rap singers that never got signed to Murder Inc. But now we finally have a platform for all the songs that were ever rejected in our career. We’ve always stayed music-adjacent — from our early web series to Fallon, from Maya & Marty to endless award shows hosted by Drake, we have always tried to do what Christopher Guest, The Lonely Island and The Muppets do so well … but ‘black.’ So, in the words of the great Chamillionaire, ‘They see us rollin’ …they hatin’.'”
Serving as executive producers on the project, in addition to the creators, are Frank Scherma and Jim Bouvet of RadicalMedia and John Legend, Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorius through their Get Lifted Film Co. shingle.
“When Bashir and Diallo brought us such a fully formed concept, universe and tone from the first pitch, we knew this was going to be a special show for IFC,” said network president Jennifer Caserta. “We’re incredibly excited that they brought Radical and Get Lifted into the mix from the start because music is integral to this show’s dynamite DNA.”
A 2019 premiere is being eyed.
This article originally appeared on THR.com.