Roku Saves Nasim Pedrad’s ‘Chad’ With Season 2 Pickup
Nasim Pedrad’s cringe comedy series “Chad” has been saved from certain death. The series, which aired its first season on TBS, will move to the Roku Channel for Season 2, IndieWire has confirmed.
In July, TBS pulled Season 2 from its programming schedule the day it was scheduled to premiere and confirmed to several outlets that the season would not air on the network. The show, which had already wrapped production on the season, was the highest profile consequence of restructuring at the channel following the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The merger prompted the company, under the leadership of David Zaslav, to cut original scripted programming from TBS and other networks in its portfolio.
A premiere date for Season 2 of the show has not yet been announced. In addition to airing the new season, Roku has also acquired non-exclusive streaming rights to Season 1. This isn’t the first time the video streaming company saved a TV project from limbo; last year, Roku acquired the entire catalog of now-shuttered short-form video app Quibi, making its programs available on the Roku Channel.
“The Roku Channel is committed to championing creativity and fostering great storytelling. ‘Chad’ is a story years-in-the-making that deserved to be told,” Roku Scripted Originals Head Colin Davis said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be partnering closely with Nasim and her team to bring the next chapter of this exceptional series both to existing fans, as well as sharing it for the first time with new audiences, on The Roku Channel.”
Created by Pedrad, “Chad” stars the “SNL” alum as the titular 14-year-old Persian-American boy navigating high school, his complicated relationship with his identity and family, and his desperate attempts to find popularity. Season 2 will follow Chad, now class president, as he gains a love interest and deals with the new presence of his Iranian grandmother at home. The show also stars Jake Ryan, Paul Chahidi, Saba Homayoon, Ella Mika, Alexa Loo, Thomas Barbusca, and Sara Malal Rowe. Pedrad executive produces the series with her co-showrunner, Max Searle, and Rob Rossell and Oly Obst.
In a statement celebrating “Chad’s” revival, Pedrad expressed her gratefulness that Roku had picked up the series and proclaimed her support for the current protests against the Iranian government.
“So much of my heart is infused in this show. While I feel conflicted celebrating anything right now as the people of my homeland are in the midst of a revolution against an oppressive regime, I’m grateful to have a platform where I can talk about it,” Pedrad said in her statement. “I’m grateful to be part of a diaspora of Iranians, all from various sectors, utilizing their reach and resources to help amplify the voices of the Iranian people. And I’m especially grateful to be promoting a show that portrays an Iranian American family from a place of humor, humanity, and empathy — something I had longed for growing up.”
Deadline first reported the news that Roku picked up “Chad.”