‘Straight Man’: AMC Orders Bob Odenkirk Comedic Drama To Series
‘Better Call Saul’ might be on its final season but US broadcaster AMC is very keen to make sure its leading star sticks around, as they greenlight comedy-drama ‘Straight Man‘ with Bob Odenkirk taking the main role.
‘Straight Man’ is a mid-life crisis tale set at Railton College, told in the first person by William Henry Devereaux, Jr. (Odenkirk), the unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded college in the Pennsylvania rust belt.
In the course of a single week, Devereaux will have his nose mangled by an angry colleague, imagine his wife is having an affair with his dean, wonder if a curvaceous adjunct is trying to seduce him with peach pits and threaten to execute a goose on local television — all this while coming to terms with his philandering father, the dereliction of his youthful promise and the ominous failure of certain vital body functions.
Aaron Zelman (‘Silicon Valley’, ‘The Kiling’) and Paul Lieberstein (‘The Newsroom’, ‘The Office’), who adapted the project from the novel of the same name by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo, will serve as co-showrunners. Zelman, Lieberstein, Odenkirk, Mark Johnson, Richard Russo, Naomi Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero are executive producers. Peter Farrelly (‘Green Book’, ‘Loudermilk’) will direct and also exec produce.
“I am thrilled that AMC is embracing the unique scenario and characters in Paul and Aaron’s adaptation of Straight Man,” Odenkirk said. “I have loved the mix of comedy and drama in Better Call Saul, and this is another story with a unique dynamic, and the kind of closely observed character writing and exploration that AMC has become the touchstone for. It’s going to be fun to play and watch!”
This will be Odenkirk’s third series on AMC, following ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’. The first season of ‘Straight Man’ will be eight one-hour episodes. The project comes from Sony Pictures’ Television TriStar TV and Gran Via, and was announced as being in “fast-track development” earlier this month… and that turned out to be one very fast track!
“The saying goes ‘the third times a charm,’ but when it comes to Bob Odenkirk on AMC, the first and second times were about as charming, captivating and viscerally entertaining as it gets,” adds Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “As Better Call Saul begins its epic sixth and final season, we could not be more excited by the prospect of keeping Bob at home on AMC and watching him breathe life into another nuanced, complicated and unforgettable character. The chance to collaborate once again with our partners at Sony Pictures Television and Mark Johnson’s Gran Via is even more icing on a very satisfying cake.”
Odenkirk is currently starring in the final season of ‘Better Call Saul’, which returned to AMC this week in the USA, and on Netflix in the UK. The series follows Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer/con-man on his transformational journey to becoming Saul Goodman, the shady lawyer of a certain two blue-meth dealing reprobates in ‘Breaking Bad’. If you’re a fan of the series, you can follow along with our weekly podcast ‘Becoming Saul’, over on Entertainment Talk.
“We’re so excited to work with Bob,” said co-showrunners Zelman and Lieberstein. “We don’t know another actor who can give you three different emotions on his face at the same time, in a reaction shot. We’re thrilled to swim in the depth of his range. And it’s a dream to be working with Mark Johnson, who literally has Jedi powers to make everyone think they came up with his idea. Oh, and did we mention the legendary Peter Farrelly? AMC Networks and Sony/Tristar have been uniquely supportive partners in sharing our vision for the show. Ever since Mad Men we’ve wanted a show on this network, where risk-taking is par for the course. We’re honoured to be bringing Richard Russo’s amazing novel to life here.”
‘Straight Man‘ does not yet have a premiere date, but will air on AMC & AMC+ in the USA. Although we have an AMC in the UK (buried under a very limiting deal with BT), it does not always follow that their own shows air on their own channel (they presumably make more selling them to other broadcasters abroad), so it isn’t yet clear where the show will air over here. If you want to keep track of this show you can add it via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
