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Steve Carell successfully made the transition from Daily Show corespondent to comedy series star with The Office. He is now getting behind another well-known Daily Show cast member, Jason Jones, in his foray into primetime. Steve Carell and Chris & Paul Weitz are executive producing an untitled comedy project for Fox written by and starring Jones. The project, produced by 20th Century Fox, Carell’s Carousel Television and the Weitz Brothers’ Depth of Field, chronicles what happens to a successful single guy (Jones) in Manhattan who never wanted a family until his sister’s two kids are thrust upon him when she is called back to active duty. Jones, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Carell, Carousel TV’s Thom Hinkle and Depth of Field’s Andrew Miano exec produce. Carell and Jones did not overlap on The Daily Show — Jones joined in 2005, the same year Carell left to do The Office. Jones...

Exclusive: With USA Network now officially in the comedy business with its first half-hour pilot orders, the network has hired a dedicated comedy executive. ABC Studios’ Melanie Frankel has joined USA as VP Original Comedy Series. She will oversee comedy development and production, reporting to USA’s Svp original scripted programming Bill McGoldrick. “As we aggressively expand our scripted portfolio to include half-hours, this is the perfect time to add an experienced comedy executive to our team,” McGoldrick said. “We feel lucky to have found someone with Melanie’s keen instincts, depth of experience and collaborative spirit as we create our own distinctive brand of comedy with the most talented minds in the genre.” Frankel comes from ABC Studios, where she was most recently director of comedy and served as ABC Studios’ primary comedy executive for studio-based pods/producers the Mark Gordon Co, the Warren Littlefield Co, Stu Bloomberg, Mandeville,...

Jason Jones is the latest "Daily Show" correspondent heading to primetime.

The actor-comedian has been tapped as the lead in ABC's comedy pilot "How to Be a Better American."

"American" centers on a father (Jones) who embarks on a journey to be a better person and drags his family along kicking and screaming.

Jones, who has worked on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" since 2005, co-penned a comedy project for CBS with his wife and fellow "Daily Show" corespondent Samantha Bee last season, which was eyed as a potential starring vehicle for them. He also did an arc on CBS' "How I Met Your Mother."

Jones follows in the footsteps of other "Daily Show" correspondents who have gone to primetime, including Steve Carell and Ed Helms of "The Office"; Rob Corddry, who toplined Fox's "The Winner"; and most recently Rob Riggle, who stars in CBS' multicamera pilot "Team Spitz.