"Seinfeld" veteran Larry Charles returns to NBC

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Former "Seinfeld" writer-producer Larry Charles, who went on to direct the "Borat" and "Bruno" movies, is returning to NBC with a semi-scripted project.

Set in a small town, the untitled ensemble comedy revolves around a disparate group of people who find a unique way to exercise their creativity by making episodes of their favorite show after its end.

"Our show is a show about us, depicting contemporary American life through the prism of a do-it-yourself homemade aesthetic that will mix mediums to produce a modern mosaic of triumphs glories and absurdities that we all experience and recognize," Charles said.

NBC has ordered a pilot that will serve as a prototype for what the show would be. Charles will write and direct.

The pact brings Charles back to NBC, where he was a key writer-producer on "Seinfeld," earning two Emmys for his work on the show. He also served as showrunner on NBC's "Mad About You" during the height of the show's success.

In the past several years, Charles has worked primarily in features and in cable, becoming one of the leading writer-directors of semi-scripted comedies. He is a longtime director-producer of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," starring "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David.

In addition to directing Sacha Baron Cohen in "Borat" and "Bruno," he also took the helm of Bill Maher's feature documentary "Religulous."