John C. McGinley to add some whiteness to CBS’ multiracial cop comedy

By Alex McLevy | April 3, 2017 | 8:38pm

Aux Features TV

We previously reported on Brothered Up, the new multi-camera sitcom pilot picked up by CBS from Man With A Plan co-executive producer Mark Gross. At the time, it was described as a multiracial cop comedy about “an African-American and Pakistani cop working together in Detroit,” in classic mismatched-duo style, with the former being “emotionally guarded” and the latter “emotionally open.” Well, it looks like CBS assessed the state of the show, and thought to themselves, “We should really give some affirmative action to the underrepresented ‘white guys named John C. McGinley’ demographic.” Well, probably not, but that’s what’s happening: Deadline reports McGinley is joining the cast as Commander Lee, a boss who “treats his officers with respect and dignity and always tries to ensure that the team is happy.” So, the opposite of his Scrubs character, basically.

And before all you Stan Against Evil fanatics worry this means the end of McGinley’s lackadaisical monster-fighting days, fear not. The deal allows McGinley to be a key series regular on Brothered Up while also continuing to star and produce in the IFC horror-comedy, which was just starting to get good when its first season ended. No word yet to what extent this new series will actually attempt to use “brother” as an adjective or verb, thereby opening itself to possible boycotts from Merriam-Webster.