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NBC steps on its comedy pedal with 'American Auto'

Whatever you're driving these days, there's now a comedy series about the industry that made it.

After a December preview, NBC's "American Auto" pulls into its regular time period Tuesday, Jan. 4. Logically set in Detroit, the show from executive producers including Justin Spitzer ("Superstore," "The Office") has an ensemble cast headed by "Saturday Night Live" alum Ana Gasteyer as a car company's new chief, who has great management skills but scarce automotive knowledge. Thus, she leans heavily on her new team, including characters played by Harriet Dyer ("Wakefield"), Jon Barinholtz (also of "Superstore"), Humphrey Ker, Michael B. Washington, Tye White ("Greenleaf") and "The Daily Show's" X Mayo.

"I pitched this show back in 2013," Spitzer says. "I'd been on 'The Office' for a long time, and I thought I'd love to do a workplace show about the corporate world. In 'The Office' they refer to decisions made by 'corporate' occasionally, and I'd think, 'How do those decisions get made?' Then the following year, I did 'Superstore.' 'American Auto' was in pilot at that point, so I took bits and pieces and put them in 'Superstore.'"

Universal Television, and then NBC, executive Tracey Pakosta (who moved to Netflix in 2020) remained a fan of "American Auto." She championed its continued development by Spitzer, who notes, "The people at (the) corporate (level) aren't bad people. They're good people doing their best to try to make the company work, and, sometimes, their decisions have bad effects on the employees. The fact that it's the auto industry came later. I just wanted it to be about a big, multibillion-dollar American industry."

Dori (X Mayo), Jack (Tye White) and Wesley (Jon Barinholtz) contemplate their futures in NBC's new "American Auto." Courtesy of NBC

Ultimately, "American Auto" was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, which began as the pilot was about to be filmed. Gasteyer says there was a "blessing on this, because honestly, we didn't even know if it was going to go. We ended up making the pilot in October 2020, then got picked up and started filming in 2021. It was a long, drawn-out thing, but kind of nice in a way, because you do these new television shows in a bubble."

For Australia-born co-star Dyer, "American Auto" is a switch from the plentiful drama she's been doing lately, not only in "Wakefield" (seen on Showtime) but also the 2020 movie "The Invisible Man," from which she made a memorable exit as Elisabeth Moss' sister.

"I would just hope to do both (genres) for as long as people will allow it," Dyer reflects. "This is a dream, to come to America and do a network comedy. That was something I never thought would happen. If I stayed in comedy mostly, that would be very exciting to me, but I really do love drama, too."

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