Roku Saves 'Chad' From Nasim Pedrad With Season 2 Pickup

Nasim Pedrad's comedy series 'Chad' was saved from certain death. The series, which aired its first season on TBS, will move to Roku for Season 2, IndieWire has confirmed.

In July, TBS pulled Season 2 from its lineup on its premiere day and confirmed to multiple outlets that the season would not air on the network. The show, which had already wrapped production for the season, was the highest-profile consequence of the channel's restructuring following the Warner Bros. merger. Discovery. The merger prompted the company, under the leadership of David Zaslav, to remove original scripted programming from TBS and other networks from its portfolio.

A premiere date for Season 2 of the show has yet to be announced. In addition to streaming the new season, Roku has also acquired non-exclusive streaming rights to Season 1. This isn't the first time the video streaming company has rescued a TV project from limbo; last year, Roku acquired the entire catalog of the now-shutdown short-form video app Quibi, making its programs available on the Roku Channel.

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"The Roku Channel is committed to fostering creativity and fostering quality storytelling. 'Chad' is a story that has spanned years and was worth telling," said Colin Davis, Head of Roku Scripted Originals, in a statement, "We are thrilled to partner closely with Nasim and his team to bring the next chapter of this exceptional series to existing fans, as well as to share it for the first time with new audiences, on the Roku channel."

Created by Pedrad, “Chad” stars the “SNL” alum as the titular 14-year-old Persian-American boy navigating high school, his complicated relationship with his identity and family, and his desperate attempts to find popularity. Season 2 will follow Chad, now class president, as he acquires a love interest and deals with his Iranian grandmother's new presence at home. The show also stars Jake Ryan, Paul Chahidi, Saba Homayoon, Ella Mika, Alexa Loo, Thomas Barbusca and Sara Malal Rowe. The Pedrad executive produces the series with her co-showrunner, Max Searle, and Rob Rossell and Oly Obst.

In a statement celebrating the revival of “Chad,” Pedrad expressed his gratitude to Roku for taking over the series and proclaimed his support for the current protests against the Iranian government.

“So much of my heart is infused into this show. Although I feel conflicted to celebrate anything at this time when the people of my homeland are in the midst of a revolution against an oppressive regime, I am grateful to have a platform where I can talk about it," Pedrad said in his statement. "I am grateful to be part of a diaspora of Iranians, all from diverse sectors, using their reach and resources to help amplify the voice of the Iranian people. And I'm especially grateful to promote a show that portrays an Iranian-American family from a place of humor, humanity, and empathy — something I've longed to grow from. "

Deadline announced for the first time that Roku had picked up "Chad".

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