The Showtime series “Work in Progress,” made and set in Chicago, will return for a second season, the premium channel announced Monday.
Abby McEnany stars on the show and co-created it with fellow Chicago improv fixture Tim Mason. They are the executive producers along with Lilly Wachowski, the locally based co-director of “The Matrix” and other big-budget films.
“We could not be more gratified that both critics and viewers are responding to the spark of creativity and original point of view that blew us away when we first saw the pilot that screened at Sundance last year,” Showtime’s Jana Winograde said in a statement. “We fell in love with Abby at first sight, and are eager to share in the laughter (and tears) that she, Tim and Lilly will undoubtedly evoke in season two.”
It’s a continuation of a Cinderella story that started a year ago, when McEnany and Mason screened their homemade series pilot at the Sundance Film Festival and won a series order from Showtime.
McEnany plays a version of herself, queer and middle-aged, quick-witted but also depressed about her weight and her lack of accomplishments. The “Work in Progress” season finale airs Jan. 26.
Showtime also made news about other Chicago series on Monday:
• The upcoming 11th season of “Shameless” will be the series’ last.
• The third season of Lena Waithe’s “The Chi” will premiere July 5.
