As part of the five-year first-look deal he signed with HBO, Adam McKay will helm a limited series covering the Jeffrey Epstein story. The show will be based on the soon-to-be-published book by Miami Herald journalist Julie K. Brown, whose reporting was key in Epstein’s July arrest for sex trafficking.
Epstein was a multimillionaire financier and convicted sex offender who allegedly ran a private island getaway, reportedly frequented by some of the world’s most rich and famous, which played home to Epstein’s underage sex worker operation.
He served a brief 13-month sentence in 2008, but was arrested again in July on federal charges. He died in his prison cell a month later, with the medical examiner deeming it a suicide.
It’s really no surprise McKay is tackling this story. In recent years he’s become the go-to guy for true stories like this that explore the dangerous power of the mega rich 1%. He covered the financial crisis in The Big Short, before analysing Dick Cheney‘s stint as Vice President to George W. Bush in Vice.
In both of those films, the subjects are treated with meta humour and sometimes bizarre setpieces. No surprise considering that McKay is best known for his comedies like Anchorman and Step Brothers. That method may be trickier to do with a story as dark as this, though.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if this is a more by-the-book telling of the story. I’m not sure if fourth wall breaking comedy bits are appropriate for a story about a sex offender. McKay is known to push boundaries though, so we’ll wait and see.
Casey Bloys, president of HBO Programming, said in a statement: “We are delighted to continue our longtime collaboration with Adam McKay with this new deal. Adam is a uniquely talented director and producer, and we are looking forward to working with him and the team at Hyperobject on many projects to come”.
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