WWE Studios is developing its first television sitcom, wrestler Santino Morella announced on January 25 at the ‘Monday Night RAW’ event in Columbus, Ohio. Morella announced publicly for the first time that the studio, which was founded in 2002 and has only released movies to date, including ‘The Marine’ and ’12 Rounds,’ is developing the ‘Santino Morella Sitcom.’

Obviously, Morella will star in the show, alongside co-WWE stars Beth Phoenix and Vladimir Kozlov, who will play his girlfriend and best friend. Morella didn’t give away many of the details, but said it will be more of a traditional multi-camera sitcom, as opposed to a reality show. “I think we’re going to use one or two cameras. It will kind of be like a ‘Seinfeld,’ but with me. You know, it will only be a reality show if you consider wrestling reality,” he said. Morella added that the show will be filming its first three episodes in two weeks.

The show will debut on-line, and then move to network television. USA Networks, which broadcasts ‘Monday Night RAW,’ will most likely air the sitcom, as it has been the home of ‘WWE Monday Night RAW’ for years. While USA Executive Vice President Chris McCumber said the company isn’t currently actively looking for sitcoms, it would consider airing one if it goes along with its “Characters Welcome” theme.

Since its inception, WWE Studios has co- and solely produced both theatrical and straight-to-DVD movies, all of which have starred at least one WWE wrestler. Some of these have been at least somewhat successful, including ‘The Scorpion King’ and ‘Walking Tall,’ both starring The Rock. Others have received negative reviews from critics and flopped at the box office, including ‘See No Evil,’ starring Kane, and ‘The Condemned,’ starring ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.

Written by: Karen Benardello