Comedy Central orders the Onion TV pilot

Comedy Central is teaming with satirical newspaper the Onion for a half-hour scripted comedy.

The as-yet-untitled pilot will be based on the Onion Sports Network online video series and take on teams, fans, sports products and sports coverage. The show will be geared toward sports lovers and long-time followers of the Onion.

"We are thrilled to be in business with a cultural icon like the Onion to give our audience the sports show they deserve," said Comedy Central programming president Lauren Corrao. "The short-form content on the OSN Web series is outstanding, hilarious and exactly what you'd expect from the gang. We're really excited to take this great idea and turn it into a regular, weekly series."

The project will be executive produced by Onion News Network's Julie Smith and Will Graham.

"The Onion is the biggest, most fearless, most influential news organization in the free world," said Steve Hannah, CEO of Onion, Inc.  "And we see a collaboration with Comedy Central as the next logical step in the expansion of the Onion Sports Network's hard-hitting coverage."