Huffington sells political comedy to ABC

By Nellie Andreeva

Arianna Huffington is venturing into TV producing.

A multicamera comedy from the Internet and political maven and "How I Met Your Mother" executive producer Greg Malins has landed at ABC with a script commitment and a significant penalty.

The 20th Century Fox TV-produced project centers on the friendship of three freshman members of Congress -- two men and a woman -- who live together in D.C.

"One is swept up in the movement of change and goes to D.C. to make a difference; one has been in politics for a long time; and one is a master of the media and sound bites," Malins said.

The project will draw inspiration from real-life Washington figures.

There are a number of examples of legislators shacking up in D.C., the most famous a quartet of Democrats -- Sens. Charles Schumer of New York and Richard Durbin of Illinois and Reps. Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts and George Miller of California -- who for years have shared a two-bedroom townhouse.

Malins jumped at the chance to develop his idea for the show with Huffington when executives at 20th TV, where he has an overall deal, mentioned to him that they were seeking to do project with her.

Malins met with Huffington and Huffington Post founding editor Roy Sekoff, who quickly started giving him ideas for the show.

Malins will write the script and exec produce with Huffington and Sekoff.

"There is no better time to do a show about Washington," Malins said. "It's such a dynamic place right now, it's the coolest place in the universe."

WME-repped Malins has another project in contention for next fall, a drama at Fox he's doing with novelist Harlan Coben. It's about a private investigator teaching a criminology class.

The broadcast networks have been pursuing a D.C.-based series, most recently with pilots "House Rules" at CBS," "Inside the Box" at ABC and "Body Politics" at the CW during the past development season. None made it to series.

Huffington has a recurring role on Fox's upcoming animated comedy series "Cleveland."