Summer is still in full swing, but one thing is captivating the minds of TV execs – Fall TV programming!  With so many shows crashing and burning in the last year (The Event, Camelot, Detroit 1-8-7) and so many veteran programs having seen their last (Friday Night Lights, Smallville, Rescue Me), there are some large spots to fill.  Showtime promises to provide some interesting heavy hitters under the regime of new president, David Nevins; including an order for 12 episodes of House of Lies, written and executive-produced by Matthew Carnahan (Dirt).

House of Lies is loosely based on the novel House of Lies: How Management Consultants Steal Your Watch and Then Tell You the Time by Martin Kihn, a satirical commentary that attempts to break down the fluffy misconceptions of the consulting business.  His stance is that consulting is mostly a joke that became profitable; and that anyone will listen to an Ivy Leaguer with an MBA who wears a nice suit and uses fancy-pants words like “paradigm” and “granular.”  Even if this finely pressed suit is spooning you information that you already know and taking credit for a success that isn’t theirs.

House of Lies (the TV show) will be a dark comedy that follows the career of consultant, Marty (Don Cheadle), who is described as “cutthroat,” without a moral compass to guide him as he does anything and everything necessary to succeed.  The show will also star Kristen Bell (that native Detroiter that we love!) as Jeannie, a razor-sharp Ivy League grad, who is alleged to act as a voice of reason.

The show will also star Ben Schwartz (Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Recreation) who is  about twelve shades of hilarious, and Josh Lawson, who has been in only B-movies and crappy TV shows.

I think this show has the power to premiere to strong numbers.  Not only does it have an all-star cast lineup, but it sounds pretty darn interesting and hilarious.  Having worked for a consultancy firm, I’m curious to see how much steam they take from Martin Kihn’s book.  I’ve heard he really tears the whole institution apart in it.  Which is funny in my book, because consultants are all self-righteous stuffed peacocks who think that the ground they walk on turns to gold and that they shit sunshine and rainbows.  If the show makes fun of consulting as much as I hope they do, I will be a fan for life.

[Editor’s Note: I’ve included an interview with Bell that has almost nothing to do with the show. How can you not like her?!?!]

House of Lies has started production and will begin filming soon.  Look for it to hit Showtime in the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 lineups!