'Anchorman 2' star David Koechner lands pilot deal at NBC

David Koechner, via wikipedia.com

After training at Chicago’s ImprovOlympic (now iO Theater) and the now-shuttered Second City Northwest in the early 1990s, “Anchorman 2” co-star David Koechner went on to do short stints with NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Between 2005 and 2013, he also appeared as Todd Packer in 15 episodes of the network’s hit comedy “The Office.”

According to a report on Deadline.com, Koechner is soon returning to the NBC fold (he inked a holding deal with the network a while back) to create and executive produce (with three other partners) a variety sketch comedy pilot. Another SNL alum, Maya Rudolph, has a sketch/variety pilot deal with NBC as well.

“I am thrilled to be working with NBC to develop a dynamic hour of variety entertainment,” Koechner said in a statement published on Deadline. “As a husband and father of five, my vision is for us to create a show that engages everyone. I want it to make a mom, dad and grandmother laugh, while the 13- to 19-year-old stands behind the couch peeking over his iPhone, equally amused by the content.”

Koechner co-stars in a “Bill Brasky” sketch on SNL in the 90s