Ray Romano’s return to TV will come on cable.
TNT has ordered a pilot for “Men of a Certain Age,” a drama that takes a look at male friendship.
Mr. Romano, who will star, wrote the script for the pilot and will be an executive producer. Mike Royce, who worked with Mr. Romano on the long-running CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” also will executive produce and serve as showrunner.
“’Men of a Certain Age’ is about the highs and lows of being a guy in the modern era. It’s about three best friends, each hoping to fulfill his dreams before the clock starts running out,” said Michael Wright, senior VP in charge of the content creation group for TNT and its sister networks, TBS and Turner Classic Movies.
“It’s an honest, emotional, funny and very personal take on the subject,” Mr. Wright continued. “‘Men of a Certain Age’ is a very special project for TNT, and we’re proud to be doing it with Ray and Mike. When we read the script we knew right away this is a series we want to bring to our audience.”
“Mike and I have always had success writing what we know.  What we know now is that we’re middle-aged, neurotic and fat,” said Mr. Romano.
TNT plans to convert most of its schedule, now dominated by off-network shows such as “Law and Order,” to original programming by 2010. The network said it has 15 scripted and nonscripted projects in development.