It’s official: TV writers are stars, and can even be superstars if they treat the media right. Damn, why can’t I get a gig?

HBO Orders Comedy Pilot From Stephen Merchant And ‘Bad Teacher’ Writers – by Nellie Andreeva
HBO has picked up to pilot Hello Ladies, a comedy co-written, directed by and starring Stephen Merchant. The project, which The Office co-creator co-wrote with former Office writer-producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, stars the 6ft 7in Merchant as a gawky Englishman searching for the woman of his dreams in Los Angeles. Half as charming as he thinks he is — and twice as desperate — he’s obsessed with infiltrating the glamorous world of beautiful people. Unfortunately the beautiful people won’t let him in.
Merchant, who also explored the theme in his Hello Ladies standup show last year, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky are executive producing the pilot, which is slated to shoot before the end of the year. On the feature side, Eisenberg and Stupnitsky, repped by WME and Mosaic, co-wrote box-office hit Bad Teacher. Writer/actor/standup comedian Merchant is best known for his collaborations with Ricky Gervais. The duo co-created The Office, Extras and Life’s Too Short. Additionally, WME-repped Merchant co-starred opposite Gervais on Extras.

That’s it. From now on I’m in full networking mode. Hi, Nikki! Love your website! Want to come over to my place and see my latest projects?
Huh? Oh. See, Nikki is Nikki Finke, and she’s the LB of Deadline.Com and…hell, if I’ve got to explain it then nevermind…
Okay, I have to ask. This is the most popular post on TVWriter™ that isn’t related to either the People’s Pilot or the Spec Scriptacular. Why?
Oh, wait, is it the pic with the chick that everyone keeps coming back to see? Or is that too cynical of me?