Friend Me has been moved to midseason on CBS.

Source: http://www.tvguide.com/News/CBS-Fall-TV-Schedule-1047199.aspx

In 2010, Facebook was the basis for a David Fincher film, and now another wunderkind-run Web site with an I.P.O. in the billions is being adapted for entertainment’s sake. This time, the social-media muse is Groupon, and the project is the misleadingly titled CBS sitcom Friend Me, which the network has just ordered to series for next season. Friend Me will star Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad’s “McLovin”) and Nicholas Braun (Red State) as “twentysomething best friends, Evan and Rob, [who] move from their hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, to Los Angeles to begin their exciting new lives working at Groupon. Evan is having trouble breaking his old slothful habits and rather than go out after work to explore L.A. and meet new people, prefers to play online poker with his buddies back home. Rob has different plans and is determined to drag Evan, kicking and screaming, along with him.”

In January, a Groupon spokesperson told Forbes that the company had no involvement in the pilot. It’s unclear whether that will change now that the show has been picked up to series and will potentially mention the company’s name several times per episode when its characters, we imagine, try to figure out the best way to market discounted Botox sessions, two-for-one lobster dinners, and $1,000 “non-surgical” nose jobs. Groupon loyalists may wonder why the series is set in Los Angeles and not Chicago, where the real company is based, but the answer is simple: there are more fruitful fish-out-of-water scenarios for online-poker-obsessed characters in L.A. than Chicago. For those who wonder why the show’s title suggests a Facebook tie-in, the answer is also simple: this makes no sense and begs an immediate title change. Although on first glance, the show may seem like a genius cross-promotional score for the company, one must remember that CBS is the network that wiped out another online entity entirely upon adaptation, Shit My Dad Says. No word yet on when the confusingly titled Groupon series is set to premiere.

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2012/05/groupon-sitcom-cbs-friend-me-christopher-mintz-plasse

CBS is said to have finalized its pilot pickup decisions late Saturday. Sources said orders are in the works for comedies ”Friend Me” and ”Partners” and four dramas.

Drama orders are said to be going to ”Vegas Rising,” aka Ralph Lamb project; ”Golden Boy,” about a fast-rising cop; ”Elementary,” a contempo take on Sherlock Holmes set in Gotham; and ”Baby Big Shot,” about a femme from a blue-collar background who works for a white-shoe Manhattan law firm.

Reps for CBS could not be reached for comment.

”Partners” and ”Golden Boy” hail from Warner Bros. TV. ”Big Shot” is from Sony Pictures TV.

The others are from CBS TV Studios.

Source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118053939?refCatId=14

EXCLUSIVE: In his first major TV gig, Super Bad co-star Christopher Mintz-Plasse has been tapped as one of the two leads of CBS’ comedy pilot Friend Me. Written by Alan Kirschenbaum and Ajay Sahgal, Friend Me centers on twenty-something best friends, Evan (Mintz-Plasse) and Rob (Nicholas Braun), who move from their hometown of Bloomington, Indiana to Los Angeles to begin their exciting new lives working at Groupon. Mintz-Plasse, repped by UTA and Principato-Young, was an early choice for the role in the project, produced by CBS Studios and the Tannenbaum Co. He is currently filming CBS Films’ comedy Get A Jobwhere he coincidentally co-stars alongside Braun. Mintz-Plasse’s only previous TV credit was a guest spot on Starz’s Party Down. On the feature side, the actor, best known for his breakout role as Fogell/McLovin in Super Bad, also co-starred in Role Models, Kick-Ass, How To Trail Your Dragon and Fright Night and has the animated ParaNorman and How To Train Your Dragon 2 coming up.

Source: http://www.deadline.com/2012/04/chris-mintz-plasse-to-star-in-cbs-comedy-pilot-friend-me/

Friend Me, set up at CBS Television Studios and The Tannenbaum Co, is being penned by Kirschenbaum (Raising Hope, My Name is Earl) and Sahgal. The comedy revolves around twenty-something best friends, Evan and Rob, who move from their hometown of Bloomington, Indiana to Los Angeles to begin their exciting new lives working at Groupon.

Evan is having trouble breaking his old slothful habits and rather than go out after work to explore LA and meet new people, prefers to play online poker with his buddies back home. Rob has different plans and is determined to drag Evan, kicking and screaming, along with him. Kirschenbaum and Sahgal are joined by Eric and Kim Tannenbaum as executive producers.

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-comedy-pilots-greg-berlanti-partners-285431