EXCLUSIVE: Modern Family star Ariel Winter has been tapped as the lead of NBC’s multi-camera comedy series Hungry. Demi Lovato, who was attached to the project almost a full year, resigned Thursday from her acting duties due to scheduling reasons as the pilot was about start production.
NBC remained committed to the project, and opted for a fast recasting in order to keep the pilot on schedule while the rest of the cast was in place. With Winter aboard, production will move forward this week. This week’s table read will be held on Tuesday. Lovato, their manager Scooter Bran, and Lovato are still executive producers.
Suzanne Martin wrote and executive produced the script. James Burrows will be directing.Hungryfollows a group of friends who belong to a food-issues group helping one another as they look for love, success and the perfect thing in the fridge that’s going to make it all better.
Valerie Bertinelli, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Ryan McPartlin, Alex Brightman and Ashley D. Kelley also star in the pilot, which comes from Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner’s Hazy Mills, SB Projects and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
Hayes, Milliner and Lovato are exec producers.
For 11 seasons, Winter played Alex Dunphy, the brainy middle child in the Dunphy family, on ABC’s Emmy-winning comedy series Modern Family, sharing in the show’s four SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She also voiced the title character in Disney Jr.’s animated series Sofia, the First. Gersh and Management 360 and Goodman Genow Schenkman are responsible for Winter.