HBO Orders ‘The Franchise’ Comedy From Sam Mendes, Jon Brown & Armando Iannucci
HBO has ordered ‘The Franchise‘, a new half-hour comedy from the impressive team of Sam Mendes, Jon Brown and Armando Iannucci, which is set to poke fun at the “cinematic universe” genre, and have also lined up a solid cast to star.
The series follows the crew of an unloved franchise movie who are fighting for their place in a savage and unruly cinematic universe. ‘The Franchise’ shines a light on the secret chaos inside the world of superhero moviemaking, to ask the question — how exactly does the cinematic sausage get made? Because every f*ck-up has an origin story.
Joining the comedy are Himesh Patel (‘Tenet’, ‘Avenue 5’) and Aya Cash (‘The Boys’, ‘You’re the Worst’) who star alongside the previously announced cast of Jessica Hynes (‘Spaced’, ‘Am I Being Unreasonable?’), Billy Magnussen (‘Made for Love’, ‘Bridge of Spies’), Lolly Adefope (‘Ghosts’), Darren Goldstein (‘The Affair’, ‘Ozark’), Isaac Powell (‘American Horror Story’), Daniel Brühl (MCU’s Zemo, ‘The Alienist’), and the legendary Richard E. Grant (‘Loki’, ‘Withnail and I’).
Oscar-Winner Sam Mendes (‘Skyfall’, ‘1917’, ‘Spectre’) directed the pilot, and Jon Brown, who was the creator of the brilliant ‘Dead Pixels’ and also wrote and exec produced on ‘Succession’, ‘Avenue 5’, and ‘Veep’, serves as showrunner. The series comes from Mendes, Brown and Armando Iannucci (‘Veep’, ‘The Thick Of It’, ‘Avenue 5’).
“With a deft touch only he can bring, Sam has brilliantly captured the romance and the reality of filmmaking today,” said Amy Gravitt, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO & Max Comedy Series. “Jon is superb at sending up worlds we think we already know. Together, with Armando, they have delivered a truly hilarious comedy ensemble. I can’t wait to see more.”
Executive producers are Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Nicolas Brown, and Julie Pastor for Neal Street Productions; Armando Iannucci for Dundee Productions; Jon Brown, and Jim Kleverweis. The pilot was completed prior to the ongoing actor and writer strike action, and production on the series will not begin until the strikes have been resolved.
‘The Franchise‘ Season 1 does not have a premiere date, but will air on HBO and Max in the USA, and should fall under Sky’s deal for HBO shows in the UK, meaning it should air on either Sky Atlantic, Sky Max or Sky Comedy. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
