Netflix has ordered the animated comedy series “Bad Crimes” with Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus set to voice the lead roles, Variety has learned.
The 10-episode series is described as a dark comedy procedural. It follows Kara (Byer) and Jennie (Lapkus), two FBI agents who travel across the country to solve grisly crimes while juggling their friendship, career ambitions, and as many men as possible.
Nicole Silverberg (“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”) created the series and also serve as executive producer. Comedy powerhouses Mike Judge and Greg Daniels also executive produce along with Dustin Davis under their newly formed Bandera Entertainment banner. Judge and Daniels co-created “King of the Hill” and are separately known for their work on shows like “Silicon Valley” and “The Office” respectively. Byer and Lapkus executive produce in addition to starring, with Erica Hayes (“Rick and Morty,” “Big Mouth”) also executive producing.
“Making ‘Bad Crimes’ with Greg and Mike and Bandera, who are the whole reason I dreamed of one day getting to write TV, has been such a surreal and incredible experience,” said Silverberg. “We all feel that working with Netflix – which not only permits, but encourages my grossest, most violent comedy fantasies – is a dream come true. Plus, I am partnering with Erica Hayes and a genius team of writers who are building this show into something unique and special.”
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The series deepens Byer’s relationship with Netflix, with the comedian and actress currently hosting the Netflix baking competition series “Nailed It!” since its debut in 2018. She has earned two Emmy nominations for her work on the show. She released the comedy special “BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo)” in 2021.
Byer is repped by WME, Artists First, Morris Yorn, and Kovert Creative.
“This is a dream project!” said Mike Moon, Netflix’s head of adult animation. “Greg and Mike are the visionaries behind some of the smartest and funniest comedies of all time, including one of the most-beloved animated shows ever. Combined with the brilliant mind of Nicole Silverberg and the immense voice talents of Nicole Byer and Lauren Lapkus, we know ‘Bad Crimes’
will be set up for great success.”
Lapkus is no stranger to Netflix herself, having appeared across multiple seasons of the streamer’s hit prison dramedy “Orange Is the New Black.” She has also appeared in shows like “Netflix Presents: The Characters,” as a guest judge on “Nailed It,” and in the Netflix films “Between Two Ferns: The Movie” and “The Wrong Missy.”
She is repped by UTA and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.
“What really drew me to this project in the beginning was the fact that it was female-created and female-led, with a creator who was very passionate about diversity, inclusion, and worker’s rights,” said Hayes. “These are values that are very in line with my own, so I was thrilled at the prospect of partnering with someone with a similar mindset. Then after reading Nicole’s script, I was so impressed with not only how hilarious it was, but that the female leads were allowed to be morally gray and flawed in ways that we have rarely seen in adult animation. Nicole was really interested in hiring a partner who could help build the visual side of the show from top to bottom, which was incredibly appealing, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.”
