ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 07: Actor Martin Short arrives at premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" held at Disneyland on May 7, 2011 in Anaheim, California. Proceeds from the world premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' "Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Martin Short is poised to turn game show host for NBC.

The Emmy winner and former Saturday Night Live castmember is wrapping up a negotiation to join the network's John Mulaney comedy pilot, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.

STORY: TV Pilots 2013: The Complete Guide

The ensemble comedy was created, written by and stars stand-up comedian Mulaney and is based loosely on his life.

Short will play Mulaney's boss Lou Cannon. He's a game show host, and Mulaney writes jokes for him.

Mulaney will pen the pilot for the untitled multicamera entry and executive produce the Universal Television, Broadway Video and 3 Arts entry alongside Saturday Night Live's Lorne Michaels, Andrew Singer, Dave Becky and David Miner.

PHOTOS: The Faces of Pilot Season 2013

Short has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards for his work on Damages, Primetime Glick, The Martin Short Show, Merlin, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! and SCTV Network, for which he earned the statuette for outstanding writing in a variety or music program in 1983.

The project reunites Short and Michaels, who worked together during the former's mid-'80s stint on SNL.

Repped by WME and Brillstein Entertainment, Short's recent credits include Frankenweenie, The Santa Clause 3, Weeds, How I Met Your Mother and Arrested Development.

E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit