ABC Acquires New Comedy ‘The Dogwood’ from ‘Mom’ Co-Creator Gemma Baker
Fox Entertainment Studios Expands Production Reach with New Comedy Sale
Fox Entertainment Studios has made a significant move by selling its multi-camera comedy, The Dogwood, to ABC. This development underscores the network’s emergence into third-party production, following its transition to an independent network in March 2019, when Disney acquired several Fox assets, including 20th Century Fox Television.
Since then, Fox has diligently rebuilt its production capabilities, both organically and through acquisitions, including MarVista Entertainment and animation studio Bento Box. Currently, the network boasts a range of fully owned series, spanning drama, live-action comedy, and animation. Notably, its comedy slate includes Best Medicine, Animal Control, and Krapopolis. With this new sale, Fox is beginning to distribute shows beyond its own platform.
Bento Box is behind the animated series Hazbin Hotel on Prime Video, while Studio Ramsay Global— a collaboration between FES and chef Gordon Ramsay—produces Knife Edge: Chasing Michelin Stars for Apple TV and Being Gordon Ramsay for Netflix.
The move to sell The Dogwood aligns with Fox’s renewed focus on multi-camera comedies, which it had largely set aside after Call Me Kat concluded in 2023. Notably, the network’s current offerings have been male-centric, featuring series like Animal Control and Going Dutch. In contrast, The Dogwood, which skews female, will likely resonate well with ABC, which remains committed to multi-camera formats, evidenced by its ongoing Tim Allen sitcom, Shifting Gears.
Written by Gemma Baker, The Dogwood follows a workaholic mother who decides to leave her marriage, subsequently realizing she embodies the traits of a stereotypical divorced dad.
Baker, known for co-creating CBS’s Mom alongside Chuck Lorre and Eddie Gorodetsky, served as executive producer and co-showrunner in the final three seasons of the hit series. Her extensive credits also include CBS’s Two and a Half Men and NBC’s Happy’s Place. She is represented by UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
