BURBANK, Calif. -- In the upcoming ABC sitcom "Romantically Challenged," Alyssa Milano will play a Pittsburgh lawyer who is a recently divorced mother of two.

Why is the show set in the Burgh?

"[Executive producer] Ricky Blitt is from Montreal, but he's a huge Pittsburgh Penguins fan," Milano explained to a table full of TV critics in the Warner Bros. commissary last Monday. Moreover, he wanted a "small-town city" and Pittsburgh fits the bill.

Blitt previously created Fox's "The Winner" and was a writer on "Family Guy." Milano said "Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane has asked Blitt to write a "Family Guy" movie script.

In "Romantically Challenged," Milano plays Rebecca, who has not dated since President Clinton was in office. Kyle Bornheimer, who appears in the upcoming Pittsburgh-lensed movie "She's Out of My League," co-stars as Rebecca's lifelong best friend, Perry.

Noted sitcom director James Burrows will be the show's in-house director. Burrows, known for directing TV's best comedies (including "Will & Grace" and the "Friends" pilot), previously had an in-house directing gig on another Pittsburgh-set sitcom, Fox's short-lived "Back to You."

ABC hasn't yet announced exactly when "Romantically Challenged" will premiere or what time slot it will air in. The show doesn't seem like a smart fit for ABC's Wednesday night family sitcom lineup, except maybe paired with "Cougar Town." And it does not seem destined for the 8 p.m. Wednesday slot vacated by "Hank" and currently filled by reruns of more popular ABC Wednesday night comedies.

"I don't know if it's an 8 o'clock show," said Milano. "There are a lot of jokes about sex."

It's possible ABC will schedule the program for 9:30 p.m. Monday following "Dancing With the Stars." "Romantically Challenged" is likely to debut sometime in early April.

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