Tazbah Chavez to Direct NBC’s Native American Community Center Comedy Pilot (EXCLUSIVE)

Tazbah Chavez is set to direct NBC‘s single-cam comedy pilot set at a Native American community center, Variety has learned exclusively.

The cast for the pilot includes Jana Schmieding, Bobby Wilson, Wes Studi, Rachel Dratch, Frankie Quiñones, Eddie Spears, Brian Bahe, and Sienna Tso. It was picked up to pilot at NBC in March, along with the cheerleader comedy pilot “Stumble.”

The official logline for the project states that it is “An ensemble comedy set at a Native community center in Oakland, Calif. The employees hustle to keep the lights on while lifting up those in need.”

The pilot hails from writers Sierra Teller Ornelas, Jackie Keliiaa, and Wilson. All three are also executive producers, with Teller Ornelas set to serve as showrunner. Morgan Sackett will also executive produce. Universal Television, where both Teller Ornelas and Sackett are under overall deals, is the studio.

Chavez’s directing the pilot brings her back together with several members of the show’s cast and creative team due to her previous work on the shows “Rutherford Falls” and “Reservation Dogs.” She wrote and directed multiple episodes of both shows, and was a producer on the former and co-executive producer on the latter, sharing in “Reservation Dogs'” best comedy series Emmy nomination in 2024. Her other credits include “Resident Alien,” “Accused,” and “Sex Lives of College Girls,” as well as upcoming shows like “IT: Welcome to Derry” and “The Paper.”

She is repped by 3 Arts, WME, and Hansen Jacobson.

NBC’s current comedy lineup is rather slim, consisting only of the multi-cam “Happy’s Place” and the mockumentary “St. Denis Medical.” Both “Night Court” and “Lopez vs. Lopez” were recently canceled at the broadcast network.