Peacock seeking therapy:
NBC laffer based on 'Thinking Man's' scribe Kerner

By Michael Schneider

NBC is developing a half-hour sitcom based on the life of sex therapist Ian Kerner ("She Comes First: The Thinking Man's Guide to Pleasuring a Woman").

Script, which the Peacock picked up with a hefty penalty, comes from "George Lopez" exec producers Mark Torgrove and Paul Kaplan. Eric and Kim Tannenbaum will also exec produce through their Tannenbaum Co. shingle, which is producing with Warner Bros. TV.

Untitled project will revolve around a recently married couple whose lives are complicated by the fact that the husband is a well-known sex therapist. Kerner, the real-life New York-based therapist, will serve as a co-creator.

"A lot of people think their life is a TV show, but it's rare when you find someone whose life really is (worthy)," Torgrove said. "We immediately saw a show there. The center of it is the couple and their relationship."

Kaplan added, "The husband's profession and public persona often complicate his marriage in interesting and sometimes humorous ways."

Referred to as "The Sex Doctor to Generations X and Y," Kerner co-hosts the Discovery Health Channel series "Love on the Rocks" and appears as a guest life coach on the syndicated "Starting Over." He published the book "Be Honest — You're Not That Into Him Either: Raise Your Standards and Reach for the Love You Deserve."

Next year, Kerner will release the book "He Comes Next: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Pleasuring a Man."

UTA reps Torgrove and Kaplan, who last year developed the pilot "Play Mates," which followed the lives of three couples who met in a baby-preparation class.