TNT Orders Liz Sarnoff and Margaret Cho's Highland to Pilot

Cho to Star and Co-Write Script with Sarnoff for Comedic Drama from Tomorrow Studios and Turner's Studio T

Turner's TNT has ordered a pilot for Highland, a scripted drama written and executive produced by Liz Sarnoff (Lost, Barry) and actress-comedian Margaret Cho (Margaret Cho: PsyCHO, Drop Dead Diva), who will also star. The pilot, which is inspired by Cho's personal history with substance abuse, is a co-production of Marty Adelstein's Tomorrow Studios and Turner's Studio T, with Cho serving as executive producer

Highland will chronicle what happens when two extended, dysfunctional Korean-American families who share the same patriarch must come together after tragedy strikes. As it turns out, the most reliable person in both families is the one who just got out of rehab.

"Liz Sarnoff and Margaret Cho's brilliant script exposes Margaret's warm heart and bracing humor, balancing powerful emotional truths with laugh-out-loud scenes and characters," said Sarah Aubrey, executive vice president of original programming for TNT. "Highland continues TNT's commitment to bringing diverse voices and worlds to television. We look forward to making a pilot with such a singular talent as Margaret Cho."

Highland joins an ever-expanding roster of TNT pilots designed to continue the network's programming evolution that began last year with the summer hit Animal Kingdom. The pilot marks TNT's third project with Tomorrow Studios, which also produces the network's acclaimed new drama Good Behavior, starring Michelle Dockery, and is currently in production on a pilot for Snowpiercer, an action-packed drama based on the award-winning film by Bong Joon Ho. TNT's development slate also includes pilots for The Deep Mad Dark, a thriller about the complexities of friendship, from executive producers John Wells and Megan Martin, and Deadlier Than the Male (working title), a challenging and morally complex thriller about three damaged people trying to start over, from executive producers Bruna Papandrea, Harriet Warner and Casey Haver.

About Tomorrow Studios

Tomorrow Studios, a joint venture between CEO Marty Adelstein and ITV Studios, develops and produces dramas and comedies distributed by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. Spearheaded by Adelstein and Becky Clements (President), this highly successful producing duo has already enjoyed great success as they head into their second season of TNT's Good Behavior, starring Michelle Dockery. They have two pilots currently in production at TNT: Snowpiercer by Josh Friedman and directed by Scott Derrickson based on the iconic film, and Highland, by Liz Sarnoff, starring Margaret Cho in a dramedy loosely based on Margaret's life. Tomorrow Studios also has an exclusive development deal with Fabrication, a production company formed by award-winning writer/showrunner trio John McNamara, Sera Gamble (The Magicians, Aquarius) and Alex Cunningham (Chance, Aquarius).

About TNT

TNT, a division of Turner, ranks among cable's Top 5 networks with young adults and is home to one of cable's most popular slate of original series, including Animal Kingdom, Good Behavior, The Last Ship, Major Crimes, The Librarians and the upcoming Claws, Will, The Alienist and more. TNT also presents popular shows like Arrow, Supernatural, Bones and Castle; primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R) and the iHeartRadio Music Awards; and championship sports coverage, including the NBA and the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship.

Turner, a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, sports, animation and young adult multi-platform content for consumers around the world. Turner brands and businesses include CNN/U.S., HLN, CNN International and CNN.com, TBS, TNT, TCM, truTV, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report, FilmStruck, Super Deluxe, iStreamPlanet and ELEAGUE.