After quitting Hollywood, 'The Matrix' co-creator Lilly Wachowski is back and this time she's shifted to comedy with Showtime's 'Work in Progress'
CHICAGO - Second City is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and there is a seemingly endless list of alumni - many who also spent time at iO Theater and the Annoyance - who have gone on to become household names. Many have moved to New York or Los Angeles, but on any given night somewhere in town you can find new and veteran performers knocking audiences back on their heels. Weirdly, Chicago has never been a TV comedy hub.
A few years back there was the low-key but sweet comedy "Shrink" from Second City alum Tim Baltz on NBC's Seeso, the network's first and short-lived attempt at a streaming service. There's the brilliant and wonderfully specific "South Side" on Comedy Central, which was renewed for a second season, although co-creator Bashir Salahuddin (formerly a writer for "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon") didn't come up through the city's sketch and improv ranks. In both cases, the creators are based in LA.
By contrast, the new comedy "Work in Progress" (premiering Sunday on Showtime) comes from longtime improv performers who live and work in Chicago. And the story of how they got their show
