THIS might just be the best television show that was never made.

Picture an edgy, blisteringly satirical comedy created by Judd Apatow about a group of young actors and comedians trying to crack the industry in Hollywood.

Now imagine a main cast of Amy Poehler, Jason Segel and Kevin Hart, with guest appearances by Judge Reinhold, Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen.

That’s North Hollywood — a show Apatow pitched to the US network ABC back in 2000. They ordered a pilot, which was made the following year, but quickly pulled the pin on the idea.

Segel was to play a struggling actor who had a gig as Frankenstein at the Universal Studios theme park. Hart was his housemate and Poehler was their friend, who worked as a personal assistant to Reinhold, who played a dramatised version of himself.

“(ABC) wanted to do edgy, groundbreaking comedy,” Apatow recalled. “It was around the time Curb Your Enthusiasm was very, very popular. And so we did (this) show.

“I don’t think any show has not been picked up faster.”

When ABC passed, Apatow took it to HBO where there was a brief flutter of interest before they too declined, in order to pursue another comedy pilot called Entourage.

It’s a decision that seems implausible today. That roll call of stars and the plot sound pretty appealing and binge-worthy.

But back in 2001 when ABC baulked at the pilot, viewer tastes were different and the cast weren’t the big-name stars they are today.

Assembling that cast now would cost a network millions of dollars.

Apatow’s latest project is the Netflix series Love, starring Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs — a concept that was on his mind for many years, he said.

Should the streaming service give him scope to revisit other past ideas, the producer said he’d love to look at North Hollywood again.

“I’d like to try that, just to see what we would have to pay everybody,” Apatow laughed.

EMAIL: shannon.molloy@news.com.au

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