Diablo Cody ("Juno") pens and produces the new pilot, which will begin shooting in 2008. Showtime Networks and DreamWorks Television will team on the project. Billed as "a family comedy with a twist," according to a Showtime announcement, "The United States of Tara" centers on the title character who has multiple personality syndrome. "In addition to the main character — Tara — being a wife and mother of two teenagers, at times she also might become an aggressive male biker, or a promiscuous teenage girl, or a cake-baking Martha Stewart-like homemaker. And more personalities may emerge from her as the series unfolds."
Collette — who made her Broadway debut as Queenie in the Michael John LaChiusa-George C. Wolfe musical The Wild Party — is known for her film work in "Muriel's Wedding," "Little Miss Sunshine," and her Academy Award-nominated turn in "The Sixth Sense." Recent credits include "Evening," "In Her Shoes," "The Last Shot," "The Hours" and the miniseries "Tsunami: The Aftermath."