Ariel Winter Scores Lead Role In NBC Comedy Pilot ‘Hungry’ After Demi Lovato’s Exit

KEY POINTS

Ariel Winter has been tapped to play the lead in NBC’s pilot comedy “Hungry”
The “Modern Family” alum is replacing Demi Lovato
The singer-actress stepped away from acting duties just as production was about to start

Ariel Winter just landed a lead role in an upcoming NBC comedy series after Demi Lovato decided to ditch her acting duties in the project.

The “Modern Family” alum has been tapped to lead the multi-camera comedy pilot “Hungry,” Deadline exclusively revealed this weekend.

Winter, 24, is succeeding Lovato, 29, who stepped down from acting duties Thursday due to scheduling reasons.

Lovato’s decision to drop the lead role came as the show was about to start production, forcing the network to swiftly recast just so scheduling for the pilot won’t be affected.

The rest of the cast would still be the same, according to sources.

With production moving forward as scheduled, Winter is expected to show up at the first table read with the cast on Tuesday.

NBC gave its commitment to the project back in January 2021 and ordered a formal pilot in April, but it failed to move forward as a series that year. The “Heart Attack” singer had been attached to the project for almost a year.

The project was eventually redeveloped as a multi-camera comedy for the 2022-23 roster of TV shows on NBC. But just as production was about to begin, Lovato backed away from acting duties, citing a scheduling conflict.

Lovato won’t be completely leaving the project, however. The singer-actress and their manager Scooter Braun will remain on board as executive producers, alongside Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner, Scott Manson and James Shin, as per TVLine.

To be directed by James Burrows, “Hungry” is written by Suzanne Martin, who will also serve as executive producer.

The show follows a group of friends who are part of a food issues support group. Together, they find ways to succeed and help each other as they go about looking for love and the perfect ingredients to make both endeavors work.

The confirmed cast includes Ashley D. Kelley (“Insatiable”), Valerie Bertinelli (“Hot in Cleveland”), Anna Akana (“A Million Little Things”), Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias (“Mr. Iglesias”) and Ryan McPartlin (“Chuck”).

Aside from the very successful “Modern Family,” Winter was also known for voicing the title character in Disney Jr.’s animated series “Sofia the First.”

Her other TV credits include “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Robot Chicken” and “Elena of Avalor.”