Kevin Hart Animated Series In The Works At Fox

Fox is hoping to maintain their stranglehold on primetime animated comedies, and they’re enlisting superstar comedian Kevin Hart to help.

A new report from Deadline states that the network has ordered a pilot for Lil Kev, a new animated series based on Hart’s life. Wanda Sykes, Deon Cole, Keith Robertson, and Gerald “Slink” Johnson are also providing voices for the project. Matt Claybrooks and Michael Price will write.

“It’s About Kevin Hart’s experiences growing up and how his relationship with his mother and his community led to his optimistic, positive outlook despite some of the challenges and circumstances that he grew up with,” said Fox entertainment president Michael Thorn.

The report describes the series thusly:

Written by Price and Claybrooks, Lil Kev is the story of a 12-year-old, pint-sized, optimistic, highly imaginative kid who navigates growing up in the crime filled inner-city of North Philly with the help and sometimes hindrance of his strong, quick-tempered mother, drug addicted father, pessimistic older brother, ex-con uncle and wise-ass talking dog.

Fox already has a robust animated offering, which has been a staple of the network’s ever since The Simpsons first premiered nearly three decades ago. Thorn said he wants to add more to their programming.

“I really want a new animated series, that’s a huge priority,” Thorn said. “It’s a such a strong part of our brand. I think what many people think of Fox is they think of our animated shows, and it would be great to add another original animated series to go with the three series we have on right now, The Simpsons, Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers. [Primetime animation] is so specific to Fox, we re the only ones who do it in broadcast, and I think we should continue to own that space.”

There is no word yet on when Lil Kev is expected to finish production or air. If the series impresses the top brass, don’t be surprised if it’s given an half-season order or more. Fox has a tendency to push series they’re confident in, and with Hart popularity continues to increase even more after the success of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, they’d probably want to capitalize on it.