October 30, 2015
By Elizabeth Wagmeister
MTV is getting into the race with their latest project in development.
The young-skewing cable network has purchased a pitch for “The Campaigners,” a political dramedy from “The Wedding Ringer” helmer Jeremy Garelick and author/producer Aaron Cooley, Variety has learned exclusively.
The hourlong project revolves around a group of overachieving undergrads who use their social media savvy to get a fictional candidate nominated for the upcoming senate election. What started as a political statement turns into a twisted mystery when a suspicious person claims to be their candidate, and the ensemble must scramble to cover up the campaign before their imposter gets elected.
Cooley will pen the script. Should the pilot be greenlit, Garelick will direct. Both will serve as exec producers, and Sam Anzel will co-produce.
Garelick and Cooley were college classmates and assistants to director Joel Schumacher (“Batman Forever,” “Batman & Robin”) in their early years. During that time, they worked on “Choose or Lose” voting PSA campaigns. While working as Schumacher’s assistants, they first pitched an idea for a collegiate political show that could air in the thick of the next presidential campaign. Today, Cooley is the head of development for Joel Schumacher Prods.
Other than directing and co-write “The Wedding Ringer,” Garelick’s credits include the Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn flick “The Break Up” and CBS’s new fall comedy “Life in Pieces,” for which he directed one episode.
Garelick is repped by UTA. Cooley is repped by Gersh, Primary Wave, and attorney Rob Szymanski.