Locally made 'Outsourced' joins NBC fall lineup

"Outsourced," the popular 2006 romantic comedy made by local filmmakers, will soon arrive on the small screen. NBC announced Friday that it has picked up the show, along with two other new series, for its fall season.

The series pilot, shot earlier this spring, was initially scripted by Seattleites John Jeffcoat (director/co-writer of the film) and George Wing (co-writer), and given a recent rewrite by L.A.-based writer Robert Borden. Jeffcoat and Wing, interviewed by phone Friday, said that credit arbitration is currently ongoing to determine whether they will receive a full or shared writing credit for the pilot.

The two will be consulting producers for the series, and are negotiating other writing and/or directing involvement for the show's first season.

Winner of the best film award at the 2007 Seattle International Film Festival, "Outsourced" is the story of a laid-off Seattle retail manager who travels to India to train his replacement at a call center — and falls in love with a fellow employee.

"George and I always felt that the show shouldn't be a carbon copy of the movie," said Jeffcoat. "We wanted to bring it someplace else, to a modern call center. There are a lot of changes. The comedy is definitely broader than in the movie, so that's going to be interesting to see how people respond to it."

Ken Kwapis ("The Office") developed the project and is executive producer for the series. Ben Rappaport will play the transplanted manager; other cast members include Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena, Anisha Nagarajan, Diedrich Bader and Jessica Gower. Writing and production will begin in earnest in June, for a not-yet-specified fall premiere.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com