pilot season
McLovin got hired by Groupon? Christopher Mintz-Plasse lands a surprising pilot,plus our favorite IRL sitcom star jobs
- Christopher Mintz: Groupon
- Ray Romano: Newsday
- Felicity Porter: Dean & Deluca
- George Costanza: The New York Yankees
- Tobias Funke: Blue Man Group
Today in tales from pilot season: The A.V. Club reports that Christopher Mintz-Plasse — best known as Superbad’s McLovin — has a project in the works with a weird real-life twist.
Mintz-Plasse and Red State actor Nicholas Braun have united for a pilot written by Alan Kirschenbaum and Ajay Sahgal, starring as two buddies who ditch their Indiana hometown to move to L.A. and begin exciting new lives working for Groupon.
It’s unclear whether Groupon’s paying for the promo, but either way, it’s a totally random plot point (that perhaps aims to alleviate the growing backlash against the company’s ads and practices).
This got us thinking about other TV characters with real-life jobs. Sure, 30 Rock’s cast works for NBC, but it’s a skewed version of the IRL network (which isn’t actually owned by the Sheinhardt Wig Company, for starters). Here’s our ode to a few of the less-glamorous jobs of sitcom stars:
Ray Romano: Newsday
Stand-up Ray Romano’s got the perfect voice for print, so it’s no surprise his Everybody Loves Raymond character was a Long Island-based sportswriter for local mag Newsday.
Felicity Porter: Dean & Deluca
True story: even though I was never the hugest Felicity fan, I still can’t walk by a Dean & Deluca without thinking of the show. While the coffee shop / dessert heaven recently closed it’s Rockefeller Place location, the Greenwich Village spot that NYU student Felicity worked at is still open, so superfans can visit and debate the merits of the show’s two Scotts (are you Team Speedman or Team Foley?)
George Costanza: The New York Yankees
When he wasn’t perfecting the art of under-desk napping, Seinfeld’s George Costanza was officially “Traveling Secretary for the New York Yankees,” and unofficially a general nuisance to the team; there was the time he wrecked the team’s World Series trophy, the time he cost them games by redesigning their uniforms, the time he streaked across the field.
The best part? Larry David’s cameos as team owner George Steinbrenner:
Honorable Mentions:
Chandler Bing: Archie Comics
Ok, it was only for one episode, but I think we can all agree that a Bing-penned Double Digest issue would be amazing. (Relatedly, Friends’ Rachel Green worked at Bloomingdale’s and Ralph Lauren at different points in the show, but those were far less hilarious arcs).
Tobias Funke: Blue Man Group
Because “Standby Understudy” is so a real job.
In the opposite direction, check out Forbes' list of the 25 largest fictional companies.