Last week it was reported that the Book of Mormon would be retaining its Tony Award winning cast until 2013. Well, evidently, the casting is not as clear cut. Andrew Rannells, who stars as Elder Kevin Price, might not be part of that returning cast. First, he is going to have to take a few weeks off to head to Los Angeles to work on the new Ryan Murphy sitcom. During those weeks an understudy would have to take his place. Of course, the bigger concern is not that Rannells will be missing for a few weeks, but that he will be gone for an extended period of time, taking up the role for the entire season.

The role is that of one-half of a gay couple interacting with the surrogate who is carrying their child. Well, chances are pretty good that the sitcom, currently known as “that new Ryan Murphy project”, will find a primetime slot for at least half a television season. It has been reported that NBC, ABC, and FOX had been bidding for the pilot. NBC won and they are desperate to put up some kind of comedy programming featuring homosexual characters to challenge Modern Family. For goodness sakes, this is the network that made Will and Grace a huge hit, this pilot will likely get an entire year no matter how good or bad it ends up being.

This is not the first time a television pilot has interfered with the cast of a Broadway play. Sutton Foster took a break from the musical Anything Goes to work on the TV pilot Bunheads. The co-creators of the Book of Mormon would be hard pressed to demonstrate any kind of bitterness if Rannells is given the opportunity to leave for greater exposure. Trey Parker and Matt Stone are, of course, famous for their animated half hour comedy South Park.

So, get Book of Mormon tickets to enjoy the true original cast before Ryan Murphy likely adds another successful program to his IMDB profile.