Tennant to Lead American Legal Dramedy

David Tennant, the outgoing star of Doctor Who, has a chance to make himself known to a broader American audience in the lead role of the NBC pilot, Rex Is Not Your Lawyer.

The basic idea is that Rex Alexander (Tennant) is a really great lawyer, but he suffers from panic attacks--so he ends up coaching clients to represent themselves in court. Wacky! Tennant's casting is being likened to that of fellow Brit Hugh Laurie, who after being cast on House went from a cult favorite in America (from several British hits including Jeeves & Wooster) to a huge American star.

The creative team backing Tennant is led by writers Andrew Leeds (more visible as an actor--he was recently seen on House) and David Lampson (together they created Stephen's Life, the winning entry on Bravo's reality series Situation: Comedy in 2005). More promising is tapping of David Semel to direct (he directed the excellent pilots for Heroes and Life). The showrunner is the seasoned executive producer Barry Schindel (Numb3rs, Castle, Law & Order). The project has been in development since 2007.

Meanwhile, the three final David Tennant Doctor Who specials will air soon in the United States, starting with "Waters of Mars" on Dec. 19.