Actor and comedian Tracy Morgan has closed a deal to star in the FX Networks comedy series pilot Death Pact, from Rob Long and Tad Safran, it was announced today by Nick Grad, Executive Vice President of Original Programming and Development, FX. Production of the single-camera, half-hour pilot episode will take place this summer in New York or New Jersey.

Death Pact was co-created by Rob Long (Sullivan & Son, Cheers) and Tad Safran (The Long Weekend), who also serve as Executive Producers/Writers. Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men and the new CBS comedy We Are Men) of the Tannenbaum Company are Executive Producers. Death Pact is produced by FX Productions.

Here's what FX's Nick Grad had to say about Tracy Morgan joining the cast in a statement.

"Needless to say anything starring Tracy Morgan could be off-the-charts hilarious and we're betting this one is. Rob Long, Tad Safran, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum have delivered a terrific starring vehicle for Tracy. We look forward to casting the other three co-stars and getting started with production. This is going to be fun."

In Death Pact, Morgan stars as a formerly lazy, pot-dealing assistant high school coach, who returns to his hometown as a decorated war hero. He runs across three down-on-their-luck friends and former students and sucks them into his new radical self-help philosophy, which involves harsh consequences for failure.

Comedian Tracy Morgan joined the Saturday Night Live in 1996 where he appeared for seven seasons. He is best known for his role on the award-winning series 30 Rock, where he received an Emmy nomination in the Supporting Actor category. With the ending of 30 Rock, Morgan is focusing on his stand up with his international "Excuse My French" tour. With comedy always as his foundation, Morgan began tackling dramas and independent films. He has starred alongside Al Pacino and Channing Tatum in the crime-thriller The Son of No One and alongside Jesse Eisenberg and Melissa Leo in Why Stop Now. Morgan has also lent his voice to highly successful animated films: G-Force and Rio. He was the host of the 2013 Billboard Music Awards and is also a published author; he released his first book, a compilation of studied anecdotes and some of the more serious moments that shaped him and his career entitled I Am The New Black. Morgan rounded out his list of great comedic achievements with his first HBO Special, Black & Blue.

Tracy Morgan, Rob Long, Eric Tannenbaum and Kim Tannenbaum are represented by CAA. Tad Safran is represented by ICM Partners.