Created by Two Hearts duo Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore

Adam Pally, the US comic known for his roles in Happy Endings and The Mindy Project, is to star in New Zealand sitcom The Sanctuary, written by comedy duo Two Hearts.

The comedian plays the lead role of Hunter, an eccentric American billionaire hiding in New Zealand after an app he developed was sold to a Russian-affiliated military company and can be weaponised. 

Caught between the FBI and Russian assassins, he hides away in an island Retreat which he is forced to convert into a bird sanctuary to avoid extradition. 

Production has started on the  eight-part series, written by real-life couple Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore, below. It will air on Three in New Zealand with hopes that it will be sold globally.

When the project was first announced, Holly A. Hines and Eric Jarboe, co-founders of production company Happy Accidents, said: ‘The Sanctuary is the type of big, exciting comedy with heart that we know will have a wide international appeal.

‘In Laura and Joseph, we have two of the very best comedy writers out there and we’re thrilled to be bringing their first international series to life.’

Pally starred as Max Blum in the ABC comedy Happy Endings, as Dr. Peter Prentice in The Mindy Project, and as Wade Whipple in the Sonic the Hedgehog films. His   latest comedy special, An Intimate Evening With Adam Pally, dropped on HBO last October.

His involvement with The Sanctuary was first reported by Variety.

Published: 24 Feb 2026