Vanessa Bayer to star in Showtime comedy 'Big Deal'

Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Showtime said it has ordered a pilot for Big Deal, a half-hour comedy starring and co-created by Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer.

Jessi Klein -- whose credits include Inside Amy Schumer and Big Mouth -- will serve as show-runner.

The Big Sick director Michael Showalter is to helm the first episode.

The series is loosely based on Bayer's own past as a childhood leukemia survivor. Her fictionalized character overcomes illness and achieves her lifelong dream of being a QVC host.

"Vanessa Bayer is such a sharp and joyful comic talent, and in Big Deal she mines the story of her own life to deliver hard comedy with deep resonance," Gary Levine, president of entertainment at Showtime Networks, said in a statement.